Cruel to be Kind
by MadiWillow
Summary: Ryan likes Taylor, but he can't date until Sharpay does. Chad is the only one deemed brave enough to tame the wild beast. But he didn't expect to find a human being behind her facade. COMPLETE CxS
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** New midget story. Only eight chapters.

I'm so lame. So much for no new HSM stories, right? Yes, yes, you can all bitch out at me for being all dramatic about it and then taking it back. But I did retract and revise the statement in my profile, and in case you don't read that, here it is again: instead of no more HSM stories in general, it's more like no more Troyella. I've been writing them for nearly two years, and I really don't like them anymore. And for those of you who know me, you know that my new obsession is... Chadpay. I am absolutely, hopelessly, totally in love with this pairing. It's like a match made in heaven. I could go on forever about them, for reals. And thus, came this story.

Also, this story is dedicated to Heath Ledger. :'( Not that that really means anything. But Angelina (JolieMarie) and I were talking about me making this story and basing it on _10 Things I Hate About You_ days before he died, and we were both terribly upset when it happened. :( So we decided I would dedicate this to him.

Speaking of Angelina, I give a ton of credit to her for helping me with the revised plot for this story. She helped me a lot, so thank you. :)

**Title:**_ Cruel to be Kind  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_Ryan likes Taylor, but he can't date until Sharpay does. Chad is the only one deemed brave enough to tame the wild beast. But he didn't expect to find a human being behind her facade.  
_**Genre:** _Romance/Humor  
_**Chapter: **_Chapter 1_

She sat alone in class; she walked alone in the halls; she ate alone at lunch. It had been that way for the last two months. Even since, during the summer, she had nearly ruined The Golden Couple's relationship and driven nearly all of her classmates insane with her many demands as daughter of the boss, no one wanted to talk to her. But Sharpay Evans could really care less. Soon, she'll graduate and never have to see any of these people again as long as she lived.

Yes, things were looking up.

A couple people at the table next to her glanced up to stare, and she glared at them. "Can I help you?" she snapped. They quickly looked away, keeping their heads down, but Sharpay could still see their necks redden in embarrassment. Smirking smugly, Sharpay popped a french fry into her mouth. With her reputation, tied in with being a loner, people just loved to talk about her. But none of them had enough balls to say anything to her face. They were afraid of her.

She liked it that way.

--

"Hey guys," said Gabriella Montez softly. "We should ask her to sit with us... I feel bad."

Her friends looked up from their trays of food and glanced at Gabriella in confusion. "Who?" asked her boyfriend, Troy Bolton.

Jerking her head slightly to the left, everyone's gazes followed the direction of her gesture. They spotted Sharpay, her eyes narrowed around at the entire cafeteria. Six heads swivelled back to her, expressions that clearly suggested they thought the girl was out of her mind.

"Are you crazy?" cried Chad Danforth, voicing the thoughts of everyone else. "Sharpay?"

"Yeah," protested Gabriella. "I know that not all of us get along with her, but still... she's sitting all alone. I used to always sit alone, and I know how much it sucks."

"You, of all people," commented Taylor McKessie, "should want to keep her at a pole's length away from your boyfriend."

Jason Cross scowled. "She'll make me call her Miss Evans again."

Looking desperately at the last member of the group, Gabriella pleaded, "What about you, Zeke? You like her, don't you?"

Zeke Baylor shook his head with a deep sigh. "After she threw my third batch of cookies back in my face, I..."

"We told him to move on," interjected Chad. "We can't hang around someone so pathetic."

Zeke nodded sadly.

"Still," frowned Gabriella, "no one deserves to be alone."

Taylor shrugged. "Gabriella, if you want her to sit here," she waved her arm toward the blonde, "go ahead and ask." She stood up and grabbed her backpack. "But Ryan and I have a Physics lab to finish, so we'll see you later." Ryan followed suit, and the two strode out of the lunchroom.

Troy looked at Gabriella expectantly. "You gonna ask her, or what?"

"Don't," warned Chad.

Gabriella glanced at the four boys watching her, and nodded in determination. "I'm gonna do it." She stood up purposefully and walked over to Sharpay's table. The volume in the lunchroom decreased significantly, as everyone watched the scene unfold. It was no secret what happened at the Lava Springs Country Club between the girls, and the two had had hardly any interaction since the school year began.

"Hi, Sharpay," said Gabriella sweetly, leaning her knee against the seat across from Sharpay. The blonde looked up at her, her face blank, her jaw set.

"What?" she asked bluntly. She chewed on another fry.

"I, uh..." Gabriella cleared her throat. "I was just wondering if wanted to sit with us? We have some empty seats."

Swallowing her food, Sharpay placed her elbows on the table and leaned forward. "And why would I want to sit with you?" she asked in a low voice.

Gabriella flushed. "To, uh... you know, have someone to talk to?"

Sharpay laughed. "If I wanted someone to talk to, it wouldn't be you." She shook her head, smiling condescendingly. "Look, Gabriella, I don't need your pity. I choose to sit alone. Stop trying to make me your good deed of the day. Everyone already likes you, so you don't need to keep proving your sincerity."

Her voice had projected to the entire lunchroom, and everyone who hadn't already stopped talking ceased their conversations. Gabriella's entire face heated up as everyone stared at her. Lowering her eyes, she turned around and slunk back to her table. She plopped herself down into her spot between Chad and Troy.

"I don't wanna say I told you so, but --" began Chad, but Gabriella interrupted him.

"Her karma is a _bitch_."

--

Inside the Physics lab, two backpacks lay unopen and forgotten on the lab tables. The two students who claimed to be finishing up their homework who crouched in the corner of the room, attached at the face and limbs entangled.

Taylor pulled away, out of breath, and said, "Ryan --"

"Hm?" he mumbled, kissing her neck.

She sighed softly, but put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him away gently. "Stop."

"What?" he asked, finally looking up.

"I don't like what we're... doing here," said Taylor, standing up and smoothing out her jeans. She walked over the lab station and opened up her backpack. Ryan, his brow furrowed in confusion, followed and pulled up a stool to sit next to her.

"What are we doing? Making out?"

She laughed lightly. "Yes. That."

"Would you like to just... talk?" he tried slowly, as if saying the words for the first time; foreign policies on his tongue.

She shook her head. "No."

He suddenly looked at her fearfully. "Do you wanna break this thing off?"

Taylor hesitated before saying, "No..."

"You paused," he said instantly. "I heard it, you paused. You _do_ wanna end this, don't you?!"

"No, I don't," she said firmly. She sighed again. "But I don't like this sneaking around thing."

He frowned deeply. "Um, well, we wouldn't have to if I could help it. But I told you already, Sharpay would --"

"Can't you talk to your parents?" she exclaimed. "Tell them about me. Ask them if you can take me out, for real. Please? I hate how we can only see each other during school, under the tables in science labs."

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Oh, really? Because I love it," he said sarcastically.

"Please," begged Taylor, grabbing his hands and gripping them tightly. "Just talk to them. Maybe they'll change their minds."

"I wouldn't bet on it," he said, but at the sight of Taylor's pout, he groaned. "Fine! Fine. I'll talk to them after school." He bit his lip nervously.

--

Chad was unfortunate enough to have English with Sharpay directly after lunch. This was very displeasing, as his food had not digested at that point, making it easier for him to perhaps throw it up.

Their teacher, Mr. Morgan, was passing out Shakespeare's Sonnet 141, and Sharpay asked loudly, "Why do we have to study him? It's like studying French literature; you can't even understand it."

"You can understand it just fine," retorted Chad, from the other side of the room, "if you had a brain."

"Ooooh, good one, Chad," mocked Sharpay. "You always have the greatest remarks."

He rolled his eyes. "I learn from the best," he sneered.

"Will you two shut up, already?" snapped Mr. Morgan. "Damn, Sharpay, if you were a boy, I'd totally make Chad beat you up."

Her jaw dropped, and Chad snickered.

"Hey, you shut up, too," Mr. Morgan interrupted. "If she bitch-slaps you, I'm not doing a thing to stop it."

Chad's smile faded, and Sharpay smirked.

"I don't have to read this thing out loud, do I?" asked the teacher, waving the extra sheets of paper around in the air. "You can all read, right? I assume I've taught you that so far." He held up the sonnet and said, "I want you all to write your own version of this sonnet."

"What!?" cried Sharpay and Chad in unison, while the rest of the class tittered in protest.

"In iambic pentameter, too," Mr. Morgan said.

"The only thing that would make this better," drawled Sharpay, "is if you made it due tomorrow. Please, pass along that great news."

"Sorry to disappoint you, Miss Evans," said Mr. Morgan sardonically. "You have a couple weeks to do it. It isn't due until after Homecoming."

"Oh, fantastic!" cried Chad. "So when I'm hung over after the dance, I'll have this to do."

--

Sharpay, as usual, arrived home a half an hour earlier than her brother. He liked to linger with his friends after the final bell; she chose to hop into her convertible and peel out of there as fast as the accelerator would let her.

She was sitting at the kitchen table, munching on a granola bar and watching a repeat of _America's Next Top Model_ while her mother did some work in the kitchen and her father read the newspaper, when the front door opened and Ryan appeared in the dining room seconds later. He had a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a box of Godiva chocolates in the other.

"Hey Mom and Dad!" he cried enthusiastically, and Sharpay immediately tore her eyes away from the television set. She glanced at her brother suspiciously.

"Hello, son," greeted Mr. Evans, not looking up from his paper. He jumped, however, when Ryan tossed the box of chocolates on top of the paper, and looked up. "What's this?"

"Oh, just something I picked up on the way home," said Ryan jovially.

Sharpay smirked. "The closest Godiva store is twenty minutes out of the way," she reminded him.

Ryan ignored her and stepped into the kitchen. "Here, Mom." He handed the flowers out to her and she took them delightedly.

"Oh, Ducky, these are wonderful!" She brought them to her nose and breathed in deeply. "They _smell_ wonderful!"

He beamed and shrugged noncommittally.

"What do you want, Ryan?" called Sharpay.

"Nothing," he snapped. He got himself a bowl and filled it with cereal and milk. Settling himself down in the chair between Sharpay and his father, he shovelled a spoonful of cereal into his mouth. After swallowing, he said, "You know, I was wondering..."

"I knew it!" Sharpay screeched.

He glared at her. "Shut up." Turning back to his parents, he said, "You know, I'm seventeen years old. In a year, I'll be away at college and able to vote."

"Mhm," his father said mildly, settling back into his newspaper whilst munching on a chocolate.

"So... don't you think I should be allowed to date?" he asked.

"Date?" his mother exclaimed incredulously. "Why ever would you want to date?"

Ryan blinked. "Because I'm a normal teenage boy with raging hormones?"

"You know the rules, Ryan," his mother said dismissively.

"I think it's time for a new rule!" he cried. "I mean, it was a good rule when I was in seventh grade and still afraid of girls, but --"

"Seventh grade?" said Sharpay disdainfully. "You were still afraid of them last year."

Ryan leered at her. "Regardless of the validity of that statement --"

"Which is affirmative," she offered.

"-- right now, I want to date."

"Ryan, sweetie," his mother cooed. "You and your sister are twins, and you have to do everything together."

"I can't believe this!" he exploded, waving his hands so that bits of cereal and milk flew into the air. "I have never once heard of a set of parents who wouldn't let their teenage son date until their teenage _daughter_ dated." He shook his head. "I should write a book about this. It would be ground breaking!"

"No, Ducky," Mrs. Evans reprimanded sweetly. "It's not that. If Sharpay wanted to date, I would tell her to wait for you. I want you two to date at the same time!"

"But Sharpay has no interest in dating anyone!" he cried.

"Not true," Sharpay interjected. "I don't want to date any high school boys. College guys, on the other hand --"

"Don't even think about it," grumbled their father. Sharpay pouted, her arms crossed.

"Twins do everything together," Mrs. Evans repeated. "You two tried the same food at the same time, got potty-trained at the same time, were in every musical together." She sighed dreamily.

Sharpay smirked. "At least she doesn't try dressing us the same," she muttered to her brother, who turned to glare at her.

"Can't you just find some guy to take you to the movies?" he snarled. "Be selfless for once."

"You can't tell someone to be selfless," she retorted, her eyes narrowed. "And why should I be selfless for _you_? When have you ever done anything for me?"

He blinked. "The meaning of the word 'selfless' is doing something for somebody without expecting anything in return."

"Well, then, selfless is clearly not a word I want to be familiar with," she said airily, taking another bite of her granola bar.

"Why do you wanna date so badly, Ryan?" Mrs. Evans asked pleasantly. "Is there a... girl?" she asked, giggling.

Ryan scowled. "Actually. Yes."

"Martha, right?" said Sharpay knowingly, crinkling her nose in disgust. "God, even you can do better than that."

"No, not Martha," he said through gritted teeth. He looked up to see his mother watching him expectantly; even though his father was still staring at the newspaper, his eyes were not moving. He sighed in defeat. "Her name is Taylor, and --"

"TAYLOR?!" shrieked Sharpay. "No. Fucking. Way."

"Language," scolded the two parents simultaneously.

"Seriously – Taylor?" reiterated Sharpay. "As in, Taylor _McKessie_?"

"Yes," he said shortly.

Whistling, Sharpay said, "Wow, I thought it was gonna be, like, Gabriella or someone equally as scandalous – or taken."

"You'd like that, huh?" jested Ryan with a curled lip. "And then you could take out Troy to comfort him --"

"Troy?" she scoffed. "Please. I'm so done with him."

"Well, Ryan," his mother cut in, "she seems like a nice girl --"

"All you've heard is her name!" blurted out Sharpay.

"-- but the rule still stands. Until Sharpay dates – and no college boys," she added as her daughter opened her mouth, "– you can't date either."

Ryan stood up quickly, his chair tipping over and crashing to the ground. "This is so ridiculous!" he shouted. "Are you guys seriously following through with this?"

"Why wouldn't we?" his mother asked breezily.

Letting out a load groan of frustration, he turned on his heel and stormed out of the room.

Sharpay swallowed the piece of granola bar she was chewing and said, "Wow, he's acting like the teenager daughter, what with the dramatic exit and the --" as she paused, a door slammed, "-- door slamming." She took another bite and said, with food in her mouth, "He really is a girly boy, isn't he?"


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** Aw, I love all my fellow Chadpay fans.

I am updating this at 11 P.M. because I don't want to do my homework. :( And I wonder why my grades are slipping.

**Title:**_ Cruel to be Kind  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_Ryan likes Taylor, but he can't date until Sharpay does. Chad is the only one deemed brave enough to tame the wild beast. But he didn't expect to find a human being behind her facade.  
_**Genre:** _Romance/Humor  
_**Chapter: **_Chapter 2_

Ryan and Taylor met up on the steps of East High thirty minutes before school started, when the underclassmen were inside the building to hide from the unusually nippy wind, and the upperclassmen who actually arrived early were hanging out in their cars, in the parking lot. The two seniors sat side-by-side, not touching – just in case – and a couple of younger kids passed by them every once in a while to enter the school, not even gracing the two with a second glance.

"Did you talk to them?" asked Taylor, rubbing his arms over her light sweater.

He sighed deeply. "Yup."

"And...?"

Looking over at her, he gave her an obvious look. "You don't think that if they'd changed their minds, I would've called you right away?"

Taylor groaned. "But why? I just --"

"My crazy mother," began Ryan, irritably, "wants Sharpay and I to do everything together."

Frowning, Taylor said, "Isn't there anything you can --"

"No," he said firmly. "Taylor, you don't know my parents, okay? Nothing will change their mind. So, we have to either wait until I turn eighteen – at which point I can do whatever I want – or until Sharpay dates someone at our school." He snorted. "But that's not going to happen."

Taylor bit her lip and nodded slowly, staring straight out in front of her for a few good seconds. Surely someone at their school would be willing to date Sharpay? Zeke had liked her... there had to be someone else. There were a thousand people at East High. There's no telling if some of them harbored secret romantic feelings for Sharpay or not.

"Maybe..." she said slowly, "we could set her up with someone?"

Ryan cocked an eyebrow at her. "Typically, both people have to be interested in each other in order to be set up."

"I'm sure we could find somebody who'll go out with Sharpay," reasoned Taylor.

At this, Ryan laughed out loud. "Come on. Be realistic," he returned, still chuckling. "First of all, no guy in their right mind would ever approach Sharpay. And even if one did, Sharpay would never give them the time of day. How many times do I have to tell you that she only wants to date college guys?"

"No, yo_u_ come on!" she exclaimed. "We have to get someone to date Sharpay. We just have to find the right guy. I'm sure there's some jackass, theatre loving loner guy somewhere at this school."

Ryan blinked. "Taylor. I don't know how many guys there are like that in the world. What makes you think one goes here?"

"I don't," she confessed, "but hopefully we can find a knock-off."

Ryan drummed his fingers thoughtfully on his chin. After a few moments of silence, he said raptly, "You know... you're right. We can find someone for Sharpay. And it's not like their relationship has to last. Just, begin. If they break up, my parents aren't gonna make _us_ break up." His face split into a smile. "Let's do it."

"Okay, but, first," said Taylor quickly, "maybe we should tell the others. Seven heads are better than two, right?"

--

"... and so, we need your help."

Taylor had just finished explaining the predicament about getting Sharpay a date during lunch later that day – conveniently leaving out the fact of why she and Ryan needed her to date – and she was met with six blank stares.

"A boyfriend? For _her_?" clarified Chad, looking more shocked than the rest. "Mission Impossible Four?"

"No," scolded Taylor. "Definitely not impossible. Just... um..." She glanced at Ryan for help.

"Challenging," he supplied.

Gabriella nodded, frowning slightly. "Uh-huh. And, why exactly does she need a boyfriend so badly? I'm assuming this isn't her idea, is it?"

Taylor and Ryan exchanged quick glances. "Um... well... no. Not exactly."

Chad's face immediately lit up. "Oh, awesome! Are we gonna get some guy to take her out to humiliate her? I'm in."

"No," snapped Taylor. "We're just going to find a guy to take her out."

"But why?" persisted Gabriella, looking back and forth between the two of them curiously.

"Uh..." stammered Taylor, looking again to Ryan assistance. However, this time, he too was at a loss for words.

"Well, we know you're secretly dating," Troy said airily, taking a drink from his Coke bottle. "Does it have anything to do with that?"

The two teenager's mouths dropped open. "You _what_?!" cried Ryan.

Taylor whipped her head around to face Gabriella. "You knew? And pretended not to?"

She smiled sheepishly. "We knew you guys were trying to keep it a secret. I was humoring you."

"How'd you find out?" Taylor asked incredulously.

Six pairs of eyes rolled to the ceiling. "Come on," said Zeke. "_Every_ _day_ at lunch, you have to finish a Physics lab?"

"And we totally saw you two making out after the talent show over the summer," Gabriella added.

"Does... anyone else know?" asked Ryan, his eyes flickering to his sister a few tables away.

Jason shrugged. "Just us. Why?" He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Well..." Ryan cleared his throat and launched into the explanation of his parent's ridiculous rules, finishing with him explaining that the only way he and Taylor could officially date was if Sharpay got a boyfriend.

Chad barked in laughter. "Good luck. I think it might be better to wait nine months for your birthday."

Taylor scowled. "Come on. We need your guys' help. Can't you think of _one_ guy that would be willing to go out with her?"

"Nope," said Chad instantaneously.

Troy shook his head slowly, thinking. "Not really," he said. "Most of the guys I know are on the basketball team, and none of them like her."

Jason shrugged. "I could look around a bit."

Chad scoffed. "You're not gonna be able to find anyone," he pointed out.

"It wouldn't hurt to look," Zeke responded.

Yawning from apparent boredom, Chad leaned back in his seat, his arms making a triangle as his palms rested behind his head. "Whatever. Have fun."

--

Most of the seniors at East High didn't have a seventh period, allowing them to go home an hour earlier than the rest of the school. However, on this particular day, Taylor, Ryan, Troy, Gabriella, Jason, Chad, and Zeke opted to linger around the campus for a few minutes longer than usual; normally, they hung out around their cars, just talking, or they would go out for pizza, but on this special day, they scoured the school for unsuspecting candidates – or victims, as Chad put it.

They split into three groups and enthusiastically approached senior boys. Acting like salespersons, they tried their best to convince the boys to take Sharpay Evans out for a date.

They generally got similar reactions to everyone they asked.

Taylor, Ryan, and Jason asked six guys: four burst out laughing; one asked who "Sharpee Even" was; and the last walked away, pretending not to hear.

Troy and Gabriella found seven guys: three questioned, "... are you serious?" give or take a few words; two quickly, and suspiciously, stated that they were already dating someone; and two more, again, started to laugh.

Chad and Zeke only went up to three, due to Chad's strong pessimistic attitude: one said, "Not even if we were the last two people on the face of the earth," which earned himself a high-five from Chad; one stared blankly, before stalking away; and the other one just said, "No," in a very dry tone.

They reconvened back near their cars after twenty minutes with their results.

"Okay, we only asked sixteen guys," Taylor persisted. "Let's try some others."

"It's hopeless," Chad said. "We purposely picked out guys who would be willing, and daring enough, to match Sharpay's personality. No one will go out with her."

Ryan sighed. "There has to be someone!"

They lapsed into silence, all deeply thinking. Chad strummed his fingers on the hood of his car, lolling his head from side to side. "Why don't you just pay someone?" he suggested finally. "You're rich, Ryan. Just give a guy twenty bucks and he'll take out anyone."

Taylor and Ryan looked at each other, identical smiles lighting their features in unison. "That's a good idea," mused Taylor.

"Isn't that kind of mean?" probed Gabriella, frowning.

"No," said Ryan, shaking his head. "All we need is a guy to take her out on one date. Then Taylor and I can officially go out. The guy doesn't even have to take her out a second time."

"Besides," Troy said, smirking at Gabriella, "remember how much of a bitch she was to you yesterday?"

Gabriella flushed; everyone was watching her expectantly, as if waiting for her approval. At long last, she exhaled a lamented, "Okay."

"Yes!" they all said at the same time.

However, they soon found within the next sixty seconds that a dilemma was imminent: who to pay. They'd scared off the sixteen guys from earlier; at just the sight of one of the seven friends, the boys would probably hop a train to Santa Fe. And, unfortunately, they were the cream of the crop. They'd reached a dead end, coming nose-to-nose with a large brick wall and unable to figure out a way to get around it.

"We need someone who's ruthless," Taylor said thoughtfully. "Someone who isn't afraid of anything, and has just as big a personality as Sharpay."

Her eyes slowly shifted to Chad, who was chewing on his tongue and no longer paying attention. Ryan followed her gaze, and smirked triumphantly. Four more heads turned toward Chad, who, after a long moment, finally took some notice.

"What?" he asked, his eyes rolling over each of them individually. After seeing Ryan's knowing grin, he opened his mouth in horror. "_No_!"

"Oh, please?" begged Taylor quickly. "Please, Chad, just --"

"No," he said defiantly. "No, no, a thousand times no."

"A million times please?"

"Infinity times no," he countered. "Are you CRAZY? Why me? _Me_, of all people? Is there a male in this school that hates Sharpay more than I do?" He looked around desperately. "Why not Jason?" he pointed.

Ryan gave him a look. "Sharpay would make Jason cry after five minutes."

Jason scowled, but did not refute the statement.

"Zeke?" cried Chad. "Come on, he only stopped liking her because we told him to."

"No way." Zeke shook his head.

Throwing his hands up in the air, Chad exclaimed, "Okay, why is he allowed to say no, but I'm not?"

"Because _you_ are perfect for it," said Taylor sweetly.

Chad glared at her. "I'm not doing it."

Ryan reached into his back pocket and extracted his wallet. He fished a twenty out and waved it in front of Chad's face. "Will you do it... now?" he asked temptingly.

Chad stared blankly. "Twenty bucks will not get me near her."

Sighing, Ryan took out another twenty. The five onlookers gasped, and watched the display with keen interest.

"Forty?" Chad snorted. "No, no, no. Let me map this out for you," he explained condescendingly. "Okay, so say I take her to the movies. Tickets are, what, sixteen dollars? Popcorn... that's..." he pretended to calculate the amount on his fingers, "about forty bucks. Add soda and some Twizzlers, and we're looking at around sixty bucks."

"Sixty!?" cried Ryan. "You can't be serious."

Chad clapped his hands together. "You're right! I forgot M&Ms. Add another thirty."

"Ninety dollars?" deadpanned Taylor.

Holding up a finger threateningly, he said, "You're lucky; Sharpay's more like two hundred, but I'm going easy."

"Easy?" Ryan yelped. "You're asking for ninety bucks!"

"I could bump it up to an even hundred if you like," shrugged Chad.

Ryan groaned, but took out two more twenties and a ten from his wallet, holding it out to his friend. Chad blinked at the bills and looked up. "Whoa, I only said that ninety bucks is what I'd _need_ to take her out. I'm not actually going to do it."

"Come on, Chad," pleaded Taylor. "This is really important to us."

"Why me?" he complained again. "You have your choice of so many guys. Why must _I_ be it?"

"Because you are the only guy that can do it," Taylor said. "You're the only one who won't take any shit from her."

Chad clapped his hands to his face and moaned loudly in frustration. He slowly dragged his hands down, stretching his skin, before sighing deeply, exhaling for a good five seconds. "I cannot believe I'm going to do this --"

"Thanks, Chad!" squealed Taylor, throwing her arms around his neck. He patted her once on the back, his face miserable, before pushing her off him.

Ryan handed out forty dollars to him, but Chad sneered. "No. Give me the ninety."

Sighing, Ryan reluctantly gave him the full amount. Chad snatched it from him and stuffed it in his pocket, looking thoroughly annoyed.

"Aww, Chad, you're such a good friend," commended Gabriella.

Suddenly, Taylor frowned and glanced at Ryan. "Wait... if you're paying Chad to go out with your sister, so you can go out with me... that's kind of like paying for our relationship." She paused. "Does that make me a prostitute?"

Chad ignored her, and said, "Okay, so, what do I gotta do? Just ask her out or something?"

"Yeah, it shouldn't be too hard," said Ryan breezily.

"You're aware that Sharpay hates me about as much as I hate her?" Chad reminded him. "I need tips. Ideas. How am I gonna get her to say yes?"

"Uh..." Ryan glanced around, and the others stared back blankly. None of them knew anything about Sharpay, or what she looked for in a man. "Well... oh, she only dates college boys."

Chad stared at Ryan for a full minute, and then gave a tiny sigh. He put his hand on Ryan's shoulder and said, "Ryan. _I'm not in college_. And I really don't think Sharpay will be fooled... seeing as how I'm here every day..."

"Oh!" cried Taylor. "Tell her that you're really eighteen, and that you should be in college."

"Yes!" Ryan agreed enthusiastically. "She thinks college guys are miraculously more mature than high school guys, so if you tell her that you got held back or something, she'll totally fall for it."

Gabriella laughed. "Chad, you're not gonna be able to get out of this."

Chad scowled. "Fuck," he swore under his breath. "Okay. Fine. Whatever. I'll do it tomorrow. But," he added, "if she says no, I'm not giving the money back."

"Fair enough."


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** HSM 3 production is starting. Insert heavy sigh here. I'm not seeing it. I refuse. And to be completely honest, one of the biggest reasons is the Chad/Taylor coupling. I know, I'm close-minded. Shut up. But I also don't wanna see another hour and a half of Troy and Gabriella not being able to kiss throughout the whole movie because of Disney's lame advertising techniques to keep people watching (... did people really watch HSM 2 just to see Troy and Gabriella kiss? Would you have stopped in the beginning if they had? Just curious...) and "Omgah please dun leave me 4 college, Troy!" and "Dun worry, Gabi, I luv you!" Ugh. I didn't like their relationship in HSM 2. It was so much better in the first. Did the writers, like, forget Gabriella's personality? Do nerdy math geniuses giggle over everything and make stupid comments like, "Your shoes don't match. Kidding! -giggle-" I think HSM 2 turned me off from them. Well, that and horrid fanfiction.

Okay, sorry, this has turned into a rant that was not planned. This is a Chad/Sharpay story. Soo... enjoy.

**Title:**_ Cruel to be Kind  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_Ryan likes Taylor, but he can't date until Sharpay does. Chad is the only one deemed brave enough to tame the wild beast. But he didn't expect to find a human being behind her facade.  
_**Genre:** _Romance/Humor  
_**Chapter: **_Chapter 3_

The front of East High School have never looked so unwelcome and repellent to Chad Danforth. He had purposely arrived to school late, parking away from his friends, and pretending to do homework so that when his friends finally found him, he had an excuse. But they correctly questioned the legitimacy of his supposed homework claim, and jumped him; they discovered that he'd been doodling pictures of Sharpay's death ("That way, I won't have to ask her out!"), and pushed him out of the car toward the front of the school.

Chad took a deep breath, the sweet feeling of fresh, crisp dollar bills in his wallet building his resolve. "I can do this."

"Yes, yes you can," urged Gabriella and Taylor in sing-song unison.

He took a couple steps forward, but froze midway up the steps and pivoted on the spot. "I can't do this!" he hissed. "I'm about to go in there and ask out _Sharpay Evans_!? Am I fucking insane or what!?"

He tried to sprint past them, but Ryan and Troy grabbed hold of his arms. "I gave you ninety bucks," Ryan snarled, "now go ask out my sister!" The two boys heaved at the same time, causing Chad to stumble up the steps.

"Fine!" he snapped, rubbing his ankle. He took another gulp of breath. "Okay. I'm going." Walking determinedly up the rest of the way and through the double doors, he strode purposefully through the halls, the six friends following about twenty feet behind him, until he found the blonde he was looking for at her locker.

His heart suck way down into his bladder. Fuck. He was actually going to do this.

Swallowing rather painfully, he walked up to Sharpay and said, "Hey," in as casual a voice as he could. Glancing over her shoulder, he saw Ryan, Taylor, Gabriella, and the others watching, their heads poked around the corner of the wall.

Sharpay looked at him strangely and very briefly. "Hello," she said shortly, turning back to her locker to dig out her books.

"So..." He cleared his throat. "How are you?"

"I _was_ good," she sneered, not looking at him.

Chad clenched his jaw, but jammed his hand into his pocket. He clutched his wallet tightly, reminding himself of the fat wad of compensation that he could spend on about ten basketballs later. But first, he had to get through this.

"You know..." he drawled, "you should totally come to the movies with me sometime. Say, Saturday?"

She froze, her hand halfway in her locker. Chad waited, with bated breath, hoping her stillness was a good sign. However, then she reared back her head and let out a bark of laughter.

Chad wanted to laugh as well – the situation _was_ quite atrocious – but he figured that Sharpay would no longer believe he actually wanted to go out with her if he started laughing. He waited patiently for about thirty seconds until her loud giggles subsided. "Is that a yes?"

"You-you've gotta be kidding," she chuckled. "You? Me? Are you insane?"

He sighed. "No." Breathing in through his nose, he said, "Come on. Please?" Pausing, he added, "Just go out with me, once. Maybe it'll be... fun."

Sharpay leered at him. "Um. No." Shaking her head in annoyance, she closed her locker. "Why would I go out with you, of all people?" She cocked her hip to the side and placed her hand on it, giving him a nasty look. "And why do you even wanna go out with me? We hate each other."

It took the greatest amount of self control Chad could muster to not say, "Good question." Instead, he bit back the remark and said, "I don't know. I just do. Saturday at eight?"

She rolled her eyes. "I maintain a firm policy that I will only date guys in college. All high school guys," he eyed him, "are way too immature."

Chad glanced over her shoulder again at Ryan, who nodded furiously. "Uh, well. I actually should be in college."

Sharpay blinked in surprise. "Really?"

He nodded. "I, uh, got held back in, like... kindergarten. I failed paper folding."

She snorted, and Chad become hopeful. If she thought he was funny, maybe...

"Then I guess I was wrong about _all_ college guys being mature," she smirked, turning around and marching away.

Chad threw up his hands in defeat as he approached the rest of the group. "She flat-out said no. You saw. She won't go out with me. I _told_ you!"

"We just have to regroup," said Ryan.

Shaking his head furiously, Chad exclaimed, "No! No regrouping. She won't date me. End of story." Clapping his hands together, he glanced around. "Now. Because of that traumatizing experience, I think I'm gonna skip school and go buy myself something nice with the beautiful bills currently burning a hole in my pocket." He made to leave, but Ryan grabbed him by the shirt.

"When I shell out ninety," he began, "I expect results."

"You saw me try to get them," Chad reminded him.

"Again," he said, "regroup. We'll just go through her stuff or something. Find out what she likes."

Chad gaped. "You're her brother. Don't you know?"

"Exactly. I'm her brother," Ryan said in a matter-of-fact tone. "You think I know what turns my sister on?"

Groaning loudly, Chad complained, "I'm tired. Give me a break."

"A break?" repeated Ryan. "I gave you a break. I gave you money." He pointed a finger at him threateningly. "Now, you're gonna take out Sharpay, or _so help me_."

--

"Hi, Mom," greeted Ryan enthusiastically as he and Chad walked into the house after school. Ryan had poked his head inside rather quickly, to make sure that Sharpay wasn't in there, before bounding inside jovially. Chad followed, smiling tightly. "This is Chad."

"Nice to meet you, Chad," said Mrs. Evans merrily. "Are you and Ryan best friends?"

Chad coughed loudly. "We're... friends, Mrs. Evans."

Clapping her hands together happily, Mrs. Evans turned to her husband. "Ryan has a best friend, Howard!"

Howard did not move his eyes from his newspaper as he grunted in response.

"Okay, we're gonna go," said Ryan, taking a step backward. "Oh, by the way," he said with faux-casualty, "when is Sharpay leaving?"

"In a few minutes," said Mrs. Evans airily. "She has a four o' clock appointment."

"_Faan_tastic," drawled Ryan, and he and Chad jogged up the stairs. "Don't let her see you," said Ryan in a low voice, as they slipped into his room, right across the hall from Sharpay's.

"You are so sickeningly flamboyant," Chad said in irritation as he sat down on Ryan's bed. "And we're B-F-Fs now?"

Ryan rolled his eyes. "That's just my parents. They would say the same thing to anyone I brought over."

Chad yawned. "So what are we doing here?" He picked up a baseball on Ryan's bedside table and started tossing it in the air. "Am I gonna jump her, or what? Run into her room in a loincloth and seduce her?" He froze suddenly. "I'm not gonna have to have _sex_ with her, am I?"

"No," said Ryan. "We're just gonna search her room to see what kind of guys she likes."

"We know what kind of guys," Chad reminded him. "College guys. Well, all except for me."

"Well, yeah," said Ryan slowly, "but there has to be other things. Like... not smoking, or something."

"I should pick up smoking," Chad said instantly.

"Shh," hissed Ryan suddenly, putting his ear up to the door. They heard the pitter-patter of heels on the tile floor outside their rooms. They listened as the steps grew fainter and fainter, ending with the loud close of the front door downstairs.

"Okay, let's go," said Ryan. The two slipped out of his room and ran noiselessly through the hallway, so as not to attract the attention of Ryan's parents. They entered Sharpay's room, and Chad gaped as Ryan shut the door.

"Well, she likes pink," he said sarcastically.

It was clearly an understatement; all four walls were painted cotton-candy pink and the carpet was snow white. Her canopy bed was positioned in the middle of the room, with a pink comforter and translucent pink curtains surrounding three quarters of it. Her headboard was also pink, with the white letters "SE" embellished on it. Her furniture was white, and on a shelf near her bed stood all her various Drama awards.

"Maybe if you wear pink," Ryan suggested coyly, "she'll go out with you."

Chad smiled with fake brightness. "Can I borrow some of yours?"

"Touché," commented Ryan, nodding. "Okay... let's go."

They both stood still.

"What exactly are we looking for?" asked Chad uncertainly.

Clearing his throat, Ryan said, "I'm... not too sure." He casually approached her desk and placed his hand on the drawer handle. "If there are tampons in here..."

"I'm leaving," Chad interrupted.

Ryan opened the drawer bravely, and exhaled in relief. "Oh, good." He pulled a stack of papers out of her desk. Sitting down in her desk chair, he began sifting through them. "Shit, shit, shit..." he said dismissively, tossing papers aside. He froze, picked up a small, rectangular slip of paper, and said, "Success!"

"What?" asked Chad carelessly, walking around and surveying her room.

"One ticket to the Southwest Theatre for tomorrow night."

"What's that?" asked Chad. "A movie theatre? Never heard of it."

Ryan grinned sheepishly. "Actually... it's a fancy musical theatre."

Chad laughed loudly. "Wow. What are you gonna do with that?"

"Well... _I'm_ not gonna do anything with it," smirked Ryan, "but you are."

Chad blinked, and then his jaw dropped. "Come again?"

"You're gonna go, too."

"No!" Chad started pacing back and forth. "No, no, no! I'm not gonna go to a _musical _for her! No! You said I was going to take her out once, and that was it!"

"Yeah, but she's not going for you," Ryan said patiently. "You have to go to extremities."

Chad snarled, "And with what money am I gonna buy this ticket with?"

Ryan smiled. "Didn't you just get a ninety dollar paycheck?"

Scowling, Chad said, through clenched teeth, "Fine." He snatched the ticket from Ryan and read it over, paling. "'Beauty and the Beast'? You've GOT to be shitting me."

--

Chad walked up the steps of the Southwest Theatre later that day, a slip of paper clutched tightly in his palm. The very thought of him being outside a musical theatre caused him to break out in a cold sweat. He swallowed, his throat like sandpaper, and stepped up to the ticket booth. A middle-aged woman with too much botox done and makeup on was sitting inside, reading Cosmopolitan magazine and looking bored to death.

"I was wondering if you could do me a favor," Chad drawled in his best charming voice.

The woman glanced up at him over her reading glasses. "What? You need a ticket?"

Nodding, Chad unfolded the sheet of paper in his hand. "Yes, but I need a certain seat..." He slid the paper through the opening in the glass and said, "I need a seat right next to this one," he said. "E 15?"

Sighing, the woman said, "I don't know if I can do that. Lots of tickets have been ordered already, and..."

Chad slid his hand through the glass window and placed it over hers. She raised her eyebrows as he said, "I know you can. Come on. It's important." He winked. "I'm sure you have the authority to move people around a bit, don't you?"

The woman smiled slightly and said bashfully, "Well... okay." She typed something into her computer, and a ticket shot out of the slot next to it. She pulled it out and handed it to him. "Here you go. Seat E 16."

Flashing a charming smile, Chad exchanged it for money, deliberately brushing his fingers over hers. "Thanks."

She beamed and said, "I'll see you there tomorrow." Lowering her voice secretly, she whispered, "I'll be wearing a green, low-cut dress."

Chad felt his gag reflex react, but swallowed. "Great," he croaked, giving her a final wave and power-walking to his car.

--

"So, you're really going to see 'Beauty and the Beast'?"

Chad had enlisted in Gabriella's help as he got ready for the show that night. The two were in his room, Gabriella sitting on the floor in his beanbag chair as he moaned and complained and whined continuously.

"Yes!" he groaned. "And I had to flirt with the ticket lady to get myself next to Sharpay, so now she's gonna try to seduce me tonight. I got the _wrong_ woman, Gabriella."

"What's wrong with the ticket lady? Once you're done with Sharpay, just move on to her..." She smiled teasingly.

"Gabriella, she's FIFTY!"

Gabriella shrugged. "And...?"

"I'll go out with her," spat Chad, "when you go out with her fellow old home male friends."

"Sounds like a plan," she agreed, standing up. "Okay, so what are you wearing?"

Chad blinked and gestured to his outfit, which consisted of tan shorts and a white tee-shirt. "This."

Frowning, Gabriella said, "Oh, no, no." She walked over to his closet and flipped through his clothes. "Chad, all you have is shorts and those lame message tees."

"What's wrong with them?" he asked defensively.

Shaking her head, she didn't respond. "Where are those pants you wore when you worked at Lava Springs?"

Chad dropped to his knees and reached under his bed, digging around before extracting a wrinkly pair of pants, looking slightly grayish due to the thick coating of dust around it.

Gabriella made a face. "Those are horrible. Please tell me you have some other pants."

"Uh..." He approached his closet and shuffled through some clothes on the ground, finally holding up some black slacks.

"Oh, good," sighed Gabriella in relief. "Those aren't nearly as bad. Go in the bathroom and put those on while I look for a dress shirt."

"It's my house," Chad retorted. "Why don't _you _go in the bathroom while I change?"

"Because I have to find you a shirt," she repeated. "I don't give a shit whose house this is. Go!"

Grumbling the entire way to the bathroom, Chad muttered, "I liked you better when you were a pushover."

--

Chad felt very out of place in the lobby of the fancy theatre. Couples were walking around in tuxedos and gowns, and Chad was wearing a pair of black slacks and a forest greet button down shirt. He patted his hair down self-consciously and walked into the theatre, not caring about buying the soundtrack or checking out the program.

He saw a mane of curly blonde hair in the seat next to his and gulped in preparation. Mentally readying himself, he walked to the middle the fifth row, taking his seat casually.

He saw Sharpay glance his way briefly, and then do a double-take. "_Chad_!?" she hissed. "What are you doing here?"

Chad glanced at her like she was crazy. "What do you think I'm doing?" he asked. "I'm here to see 'Beauty and the Beast.'"

"You like this show?" she asked skeptically.

"Don't you?"

"I – of course," she said, looking very confused. "It's one of my favorite musicals."

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Mine too!"

She let out a bark of laughter. "I find that hard to believe."

"Believe it, babe."

--

Sitting through the first act of _Beauty and the Beast_ was like when someone is babysitting, and they do whatever they can to please the child so the kid will like them. Chad wanted nothing more than to fall asleep, but Sharpay was so immersed in the show that he knew he couldn't leave. She gasped and whispered, "oh!" at various points throughout the musical, her hand seemingly glued to her heart. He tried to stifle his yawns, but she saw one.

"Why are you here if your mouth is just gonna hang open the whole time?" she hissed.

"Just because I'm tired doesn't mean I enjoy it any less," he retorted under his breath.

Come intermission, right after Beast realizes that Belle must love him before he can become human again, Chad nearly bolted out of his chair. He wanted to run into the bathroom and phone Ryan to scream at him, but he figured that it might be smarter to stick with Sharpay. After all, he could always call Ryan at two in the morning to yell at him. He'd probably be more annoyed with that.

"Shall I escort you for sustenance?" he asked cordially.

She rolled her eyes and stepped around him, grabbing some of her pink gown so as not to trip on it. He followed, locking his jaw.

Sharpay led him over to the snack table and grabbed herself a chocolate chip cookie. He took an oatmeal one and grinned at her. "Enjoying the show?"

"Of course," she said, swallowing her food. "Are _you_?"

"Yeah. But Beast is a nasty little guy," he mused. "He totally ripped off Belle's sleeve, for a freakin' rose!"

She smiled knowingly. "I _knew_ you weren't paying attention."

He flushed. "I was!" he said indignantly.

"Did you completely miss the opening scene?"

"With that nasty old hag?" laughed Chad.

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Why are you here, anyway? You're kind of pissing me off."

"Well, would you rather be alone?" he challenged.

"Yes," she said seriously. "I like to enjoy my theatre, without someone breathing so loudly next to me."

"So," he said sarcastically, "if I hold my breath, you'll be happier?"

She shook her head. "If you left," she countered, "I'd be happier."

"Tough luck," he said, flashing her a charming smile.

She groaned and stomped back into the theatre. His smirk sliding off his face, an annoyed Chad followed her. A familiar redheaded woman winked at him, wearing an emerald green gown, but he pushed past her.

--

The second half of the show was, Chad had to admit, slightly interesting. After he concentrated on not yawning, he found himself enamored in the plot. He was on the edge of his seat when Gaston decided to hunt down the Beast, and felt his throat close up when he fell from the balcony. He was so enraptured that he did not notice Sharpay watching him.

"He isn't gonna die right?" he whispered furiously. "He can't die – he's in love with Belle!"

"I can't believe you've never even seen the movie before," she responded humorously.

"There's only one petal left!" he hissed, ignoring her statement.

"Shh!" a woman in front of him said.

Sharpay held her hand over her mouth as she giggled quietly.

Chad breathed out in relief. "Oh, good. He didn't die."

"You're such a softie," she teased.

"Am not."

"Yes, you are."

"SHH!"

--

"I can't believe you almost cried."

Directly after the show, Chad and Sharpay walked out of the theatre towards their respective cars, Sharpay keeping warm in a cardigan.

"I did not almost cry," retorted Chad.

"Mhm," she murmured, not convinced.

Scowling, he said, "You're telling me you didn't cry the first time you saw it?"

She shrugged. "Sure. But then again, I was seven. And a girl."

"Being sexist now?"

Sharpay didn't answer; she saw him yawn again, and said, "You don't have to walk me to my car, you know."

"I'm not," he said. "I'm just enjoying the fresh air and taking a detour."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay."

They reached her vehicle and she opened up the passenger door, tossing her purse inside. "Well, even though I have no idea why you came," she said, shrugging one shoulder, "I guess it was kinda nice."

"Kinda? Well, I guess if that's the best I can get." He smirked and leaned against the front of her car, his arm supporting his body weight by resting on the hood. Right before she got into the driver's side, he asked, "So, movies? Tomorrow?"

She paused, halfway into the car. After a few seconds of contemplating, she said, "I'll let you know." She got in her car and, as he straightened up, drove away.

Chad jogged into his own car, whipping out his phone and texting to Ryan and Taylor both: "You. Owe. Me. Big time."


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** This story is... halfway over. Already.

So for those people who have seen the movie, this chapter is a lot like it. Like, more so than some past chapters have been. So... yeah, just letting you know.

**Title:**_ Cruel to be Kind  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_Ryan likes Taylor, but he can't date until Sharpay does. Chad is the only one deemed brave enough to tame the wild beast. But he didn't expect to find a human being behind her facade.  
_**Genre:** _Romance/Humor  
_**Chapter: **_Chapter 4_

The next day at school, Chad sat in the back of Troy's pick-up truck, his head in his hands, and his six friends around him.

"Was it really that bad?" asked Gabriella, sitting on the side of the car, her feet resting on the middle of the pick-up.

"It was horrible," he mumbled into his palms. "She totally wasn't buying the reason I was there, so I had to pretend to be all into the show and everything. I tried crying a little."

"Crying?" screeched Jason.

"Shut up. It wasn't real."

Zeke snickered. "How do we know you're not lying?"

Chad stared him down menacingly. "Would I really cry during a showing of 'Beauty and the Beast'?"

"Did you get her to go out with you?" interrupted Taylor.

He sighed. "She said, and I quote, 'I'll let you know.'"

"I'll let you know?" repeated Ryan. "I'll let you know?"

"No matter how many times you say it," Chad said in irritation, "it still holds the same meaning."

"How did that not work?" Taylor asked, stunned. "What else can you do?"

"Nothing," said Chad quickly. "Let's throw in the towel."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "You're really gonna give up after you went to the show? You've done so much already. You can't just stop."

"I can. I still have seventy-five bucks."

"We just need to try something else."

Chad scowled. "Well, you guys can think of whatever you want. I'm done."

They fell into silence, Taylor rocking back and forth on the edge of the truck and Troy drumming his fingers as he thought.

"There's that party at Bogie Lowenstien's house tonight," Ryan spoke up. "You can take her to that. She doesn't have any plans."

Frowning, Chad said, "You want me to be seen with her, in public?"

"You were with her last night," pointed out Troy.

"Yeah, in front of all middle-aged women," he responded. "This party will have people from our school."

"Then take her to the movies instead," sighed Ryan. "Look, I don't care where you take her. But if you take her somewhere tonight, then I can take Taylor out."

Chad kicked his feet on the bottom of the car, making it echo loudly. "Fineeee," he whined. "I'll take her to the stupid party. And then I'll commit suicide later."

"There she is," pointed Gabriella. Chad craned his neck around to see Sharpay removing her bag from her car. "Go do it, now."

"Do I have to?"

"Do it!" ordered Taylor.

Chad scowled. "Okay, okay," he grumbled. He hopped out of the truck over the side and landed cat-like on the ground. Jogging over to Sharpay's pink convertible, he leaned against the door to the backseat; Sharpay was crouched down and rummaging through the passenger side of the car. "Hey."

His voice started her, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. "Jesus Christ," she panted, her hand on her heart, as she straightened up. "Don't do that."

Cutting straight to the point, he said casually, "So, did you hear about Bogie's party tonight?"

"Yeah, so?" she asked, hauling her bag onto her right shoulder and shutting the door to her car.

"You wanna go? You know, with me?" Before she could answer, he cut across quickly, "I know you said 'I'll let you know' or whatever last night, but, you know, you can let me know now." He shrugged. "Why don't you just go with me? Couldn't hurt, right?"

She opened and closed her mouth a couple times, looking very conflicted. She finally sighed deeply. "Fine."

Chad was about to walk away before he did a double-take. "Wait, really? You're saying yes?"

She nodded, looking slightly lost. "I-I guess so. Yeah. Sure," she said in a tired, defeated tone.

"Awesome." Chad clapped his hands together. "So, what time should I pick you up? Eight? Eight-thirty?"

"Eight-thirty sounds good." She gave him a small smile before turning away from him and walking into the school.

--

Sharpay Evans stood in the middle of her room at eight-ten P.M. that night, not knowing exactly what to do. She'd deliberately put off getting ready for that night, hoping that time would somehow stand still and the party would never arrive. She'd been dreading the party ever since Chad had asked and she's answered affirmatively, and she'd spent the whole day inexplicably worrying about it.

She promptly threw herself onto her bed, face down, hoping to smother herself to death.

... had she really agreed to go out with Chad Danforth?

She punched her bed with her fists while she kicked her legs in a frenzy, screaming into the comforter so that the sound went near unnoticed. She'd sworn off dating after the fiasco that was known as The Cruel Summer, and she'd let herself get shaken down by a guy with hair curlier than hers in a matter of days?

What was _wrong_ with her?

Exhaling, she sat up again, as her plan to cut off her supply of oxygen had failed. She took it as an omen, that she was probably meant to go out with him.

Only problem is, was it a good omen, or a bad one? She couldn't decide.

Well, even if she had a horrible time, at least her good-for-nothing brother would be happy. When she told him she had a date for that night, he'd look pleasantly surprised. He'd practically ran into his room to call Taylor, and Sharpay almost threw up. He was _such_ a girl.

Sharpay wasn't going to get too dressed up for the party that night, so she just wore a pair of skinny jeans and white babydoll tee. Yawning with boredom, she brushed her hair straight and applied some light makeup; a thin line of black eyeliner, mascara, and lip gloss.

She was done after ten minutes. Her shoulders sagging, she slipped into a pair of flats and grabbed her purse, jogging down the stairs and taking two at a time.

"Mom, Dad, I'm going to a party," she droned, popping her head quickly in the living room.

"Oh, how nice," said her mother. She was knitting on the lounge chair in front of the fireplace, while her father read from the newspaper. "Are you meeting your friends there?"

"No, a guy is taking me."

Her mother looked up with wide eyes. "A boy?"

Sharpay sighed. "Yes, Mom. Ryan and I both have dates for tonight."

"Aw, the two of you!?" she squealed, and clapped excitedly. "I'm gonna get a picture!"

"No!" snapped Sharpay. "Jesus, Mom."

"But it's your first date!" pleaded Mrs. Evans.

"Emma," grumbled Howard, "leave the girl alone."

Sharpay smiled brightly. "Thanks, Daddy." She kissed him on the cheek as a knock came from the door. She trotted over and opened it, seeing Taylor standing in the threshold.

"Hi, Taylor," said Sharpay tightly, standing back to let her enter. "You look... nice."

Taylor smiled, touching her plaid mini-skirt somewhat self-consciously. "Thanks. You too."

Sharpay reared her head back and shouted throughout the house, "RYAN! YOUR DATE'S HERE!"

"Coming, coming!" He thundered loudly down the stairs, his feet pounding on the steps as he went, and he skidded once he reached the tile ground floor. Regaining his composure, he glanced up and his eyes rested on Taylor. She ran a hand through her hair nervously, as he stared.

"Why don't you take a picture?" asked Sharpay in a bitchy tone, after nearly half a minute had passed. Ryan blushed and finally tore his eyes away from Taylor.

"Did someone say picture?" called Emma.

"No!" Ryan yelled back. He cleared his throat and took Taylor's hand. "Should we go?"

"Sure."

He opened the door and led her out to his car. Sharpay sat down in a chair near the front door and watched through the window as Ryan opened the passenger door for Taylor and then slipped into the driver's seat himself. The two kissed briefly before he drove away, and Sharpay sighed deeply. She checked her Rolex watch and saw that Chad was five minutes late.

Another minute passed. And another, and another. Sharpay's heart sunk considerably. Maybe he wasn't coming. Maybe this was some cruel joke. As much as Sharpay tried to detach herself from her student body, and as much as she was not looking forward to the night ahead, she was still significantly flattered that a guy had asked her out. Most guys at East High were afraid of her, or just didn't like her. She liked it that way. But the fact that maybe there was a guy that saw past that had made her happy; at least, a little bit.

She rolled her eyes. She'd been stupid. He isn't coming, she told herself. This was probably just some prank. No guy would go near her without a ten foot plank of wood.

Sharpay was halfway up the steps with the doorbell rang, but she ignored it. She trumped up the steps as her mother answered it, and called up to her that Chad was there. She sat on the top step for a good, long minute, internally debating on whether or not she should go. On the pros side, it got her out of the house for one night. On the cons, it could suck.

She put her head in her hands and gripped her long hair tightly, and her scalp started to throb. She let go and brushed her hair with her fingers, chewing on her lip. Could it really be a joke? But, who would care enough to even administer such a joke on her?

Finally, after deciding that she'd kept him waiting long enough, she stood up and jogged back down the steps. She said a curt good-bye to her parents and exited the house, closing the door behind her. "I thought you weren't coming."

Chad grinned sheepishly. "Sorry I'm late."

"Whatever. You're driving."

--

In all honesty, Chad had come very close to not coming at all. He'd sat in his room ten minutes before he was due at her house, and seriously considered standing her up. It was ridiculous, what he was doing. He was going out with Sharpay for Ryan and Taylor? Why? And what would happen if she ever found out? That the guy who asked her out was getting paid by her own brother?

Chad had frozen as the latter thought floating across his mind. Since when did he care about Sharpay, and, much less, her feelings? He didn't give a shit if she found out. So what if she hated Ryan because of it? It wouldn't affect him.

He sighed. But as much as he tried to deny it, he knew that Sharpay was still a girl, a real, flesh covered, blood filled human being. She _did_ have feelings, no matter how much she denied it in school or pretended that nothing bothered her. He'd seen at the show the night before that she did have emotions, even though her hand would flutter near her right temple to try and hide them from him.

And it was that memory that got him dressed and out the door five minutes late.

"Want some music for the ride?" he asked her as they slid into the car.

She shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't care."

Chad turned on the radio as he pulled away from her house, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel to the rhythm of the music as he went. Sharpay leaned her head against the window, already feeling tired. She knew the night was going to suck.

"So, if we're on a date..." mused Chad, "we should probably try to at least talk, right?"

"I guess," she said skeptically, "but we really don't have anything to talk about."

"Hmm..." Chad thought. "What's your favorite color?"

She rolled her eyes again. "I'll give you two guesses."

"I think I'm gonna go with brown," he said seriously.

"Guess again."

"Vomit green?"

"Wow," she droned blandly, "however did you guess?"

"I have a knack for these type of things," he informed her.

"You mean color-guessing?" she asked slyly.

"Oh, yeah, definitely," Chad nodded seriously, "and favorite ice cream flavors, favorite movies, favorite songs."

Sharpay folded her arms across her chest. "Oh, really? Try it, then."

When they reached a red light, he turned and gave her a once over. "Ice cream... coffee. Movie, 'Baby Geniuses.' Song..." He thought for a moment. "Pretty Fly for a White Guy."

She snorted. "Wow. Great job," she said sarcastically. "I think Pretty Fly for a White Guy explains me pretty well."

"It does, doesn't it?" he said thoughtfully. "Do you sing it in the shower every night?" he asked knowingly. "Sing it to yourself as you fall asleep? Do you count white guys instead of sheep?"

She allowed a small grin to grace her features. "What about you? What do you count? Balls?"

"No. Do you?" he smirked, and she flushed.

"You are so immature," she chided, looking out the window again. "I meant balls as in basketballs and baseballs."

He shrugged. "I don't know, I still think you count balls..."

--

The party was in full swing when Chad and Sharpay stepped in through the wide open front door. The air was thick with smoke, music was blasting, and most of the guests were drinking deeply from beer cans. Sharpay glanced around wearily; a year ago, she was the one throwing these massive parties. But now, she wasn't even sure if she was welcome.

She felt largely uncomfortable as she and Chad walked through the crowd, since most of the party-goers turned to stare at her. Their eyes seemed to bug out of their sockets, and she heard the whispers start.

"Is he here with her?"

"Maybe it's a pity date."

"What makes her think she can come?"

Sharpay spied her brother with Taylor on the other side of the room, surrounded by Gabriella, Troy, Zeke, and Jason, and she pushed through the crowd toward him, losing Chad in the process. At least there was one familiar face that she could find semi-comfort in.

"Ryan," she breathed in relief, "there you are. Can I --"

"I'm busy, Sharpay," interrupted Ryan. "Go and hang out with your date."

She stared at him. "But I --"

"We don't need any of your negativity," Taylor said harshly. "We wanna have fun tonight."

Sharpay gaped at them, all staring at her with unforgiving eyes. "I – fine." She felt the anger boil up in her blood, and her head suddenly started pounding. The claustrophobia, the thick smoke, the loud music – she was going to lose it if she didn't get out of there soon. A sudden urge floating through her and her arms started twitching; she needed to get outside.

She turned around and bumped onto a guy holding a tray full of tequila shots.

Well... she didn't have to leave so soon.

Sharpay took a shot and downed it. She'd never been one for hard liquor, and she coughed after swallowing, but she still reached for another. Chad finally caught up with her. "Where'd you --" he started, but saw her take another shot. "What are you doing?"

"I'm getting wasted, dude," she said sarcastically. "Isn't that what you're supposed to do at a party?"

"Uh... I guess..." he said slowly. Her fingers curled around a third, but he reached for it. "How about you let me have that one?"

"No! This one's mine," she said, holding it out of his grasp and disappearing again through the crowd. Chad watched her go, a deep frown on his face. He turned around and spotted Ryan and company a few feet away, and he sidled over to them.

"What'd you do with Sharpay?" asked Troy as soon as he reached them.

"Yeah, try to keep her away from us," Ryan added.

"Why? And, where does that leave me?" asked Chad irritably.

"Next party, you won't have to bring her," Taylor reasoned.

Scowling, Chad said, "So, what, you want me to babysit her all night?"

"You're her date," Gabriella reminded him.

Chad just rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Well, she's getting pretty hammered, so I might as well make sure she doesn't start driving or something."

--

It took Chad nearly forty-five minutes to finally locate Sharpay. He weaved his way through the jam-packed house, slipping past sweaty, drunk teenagers and circling the same path over and over again. He began to think that maybe she'd left to walk home or something, and started to wish he'd received her cell phone number. If she tried to walk home, that was bad news. It was about ten o' clock, and who knew what could happen to a drunk girl on the streets.

Chad stepped outside to clear his head, savoring the feeling of clean air in his lungs as opposed to marijuana fumes. There were a couple people drinking outside, and a few others throwing up. A girl was ambling around on the grass, looking as if she was having trouble staying upright on her feet. She had blonde hair, and was wearing a familiar outfit --

He bounded over to Sharpay, as she looked about to fall over. He put one hand on her shoulder and the other on her hip. "Jesus, where have you been?"

"Avoiding you," she slurred, very drunkenly.

"How many shots have you had?" he scolded, leading her over to a bench in the large courtyard at the front of the house's property.

"I don't know," she mumbled. "Ten... twenty... a hundred..."

"I doubt you had a hundred shots," he chuckled, sitting down next to her. "What's up with you, anyway? Weren't we on, like, a date? Seems like you didn't exactly want to spend it with me."

She rolled her eyes. "Are you that unhappy?"

"Um..."

"Ryan made me pissed," she continued. "And everyone was talking about me."

"So?" he asked, surprised. "I thought you didn't want anyone to like you."

She looked at him as if he had two heads. "Why would I want _no one_ to like me?"

He was unsure if she was posing a trick question. "Well..." he began slowly, "you're not exactly the nicest person alive. And you try to steal other girls' boyfriends quite often."

Groaning, she leaned forward, clutching her forehead. Her head was pounding, and all his talking wasn't helping. "I may be a bitch, but I'm not a soulless being. It still hu --" She stopped herself before she could say anything more. If there was one bad thing about being intoxicated, it was the inability control what one was saying. "I – I mean," she stammered, trying hard to rearrange her words. "It still pisses me off when people talk about me."

"Ryan was talking about you?" Chad asked, his brow furrowed.

"No, everyone else was," she corrected. "Ryan just told me to go away."

Chad blinked. "He didn't want you here? Then why did he --" He stopped and cleared his throat. "He told me he wanted you to come."

Chad thanked God that Sharpay was drunk and didn't notice his almost slip-up.

"Well, if he wanted me to come," she said bitterly, "he didn't want me to ruin his perfect date at this perfect party with his perfect friends." She sighed. "Every perfect person has that shameful family member."

"You think Ryan is perfect?" he laughed.

She snorted. "No. I'm saying _he_ thinks he's perfect." She leaned back on the bench, her hand on her forehead. "My head hurts," she complained.

"Well, you did ingest a large amount of tequila," he said matter-of-factly. "And you're pretty small."

Before she could thank him for calling her skinny, she felt bile rise up in her throat and the next thing she knew, she was doubled over, puking all over the ground near his shoes. Chad yelped and jumped up, and she narrowly missed his feet.

She continued to throw up and he sighed lightly. Sitting back down, he patted her head in a comforting manner as she heaved.

--

Once Sharpay felt better, Chad led her over to his car to drive her home. She was more animated in the car, most of the alcohol seemingly out of her body.

"You know what I like?" she said, and answered her own question before he had a chance to guess. "Painting."

"Really?" he questioned. "I thought your life was ruled by musicals."

"I can like both, you know," she retorted.

He nodded. "Of course you can," he agreed.

"I like to paint scenes from musicals I've seen," she continued. "I started the 'Beauty and the Beast' one earlier today."

"I'd like to see it when you're done," he said honestly.

She looked at him. "You would?"

"Yeah."

"Oh." She graced him with a genuine smile. "Okay." She yawned. "Yeah, it's hard for me to buy my stuff for it, though, because my parents will wonder why there's money spent that didn't result in clothes. I usually have to sneak them in somehow."

He wanted to ask her why she didn't just tell them, but decided against it. Sharpay was a strange person, and he didn't think he would understand the reason even if told.

A few moments later he reached the front of her house and parked the car. "Well, I had fun tonight." He paused, and added, "Even if I spent half the time looking for you and nearly getting thrown up on."

"At least you weren't the one throwing up," she shot back.

"Yeah, that's true," he said, and she grinned slightly.

"I had fun tonight, too," she said in a quiet, almost shy-like voice. It startled Chad. If he looked up "shy" in the dictionary, "Sharpay Evans" would be under antonyms. "You know... you're not as asinine as I thought," she piped up suddenly.

The next thing he knew, she was leaning forward, her eyes were closed, and she was waiting, expectantly.

He stared at her for a few seconds, torn. This was _Sharpay Evans_, and he hated her. He always had. He always will.

He glanced down at her lips, waiting for him to meet her halfway. He didn't want to. He... couldn't. He swallowed, and painfully tore his eyes away.

"Good-night," he said quietly.

Her eyes fluttered open. Her cheeks turned red. She slowly leaned back, her mouth open slightly. He looked at his lap, avoiding eye contact, as she got out of the car and slammed the door loudly in her wake.

--

**AN:** I couldn't resist keeping Bogie Lowenstien somehow in this fic, even if just by mention. :)


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:** So, thanks for the reviews, love Chadpay, yadda yadda yadda.

**Title:**_ Cruel to be Kind  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_Ryan likes Taylor, but he can't date until Sharpay does. Chad is the only one deemed brave enough to tame the wild beast. But he didn't expect to find a human being behind her facade.  
_**Genre:** _Romance/Humor  
_**Chapter: **_Chapter 5_

"What _happened_?!"

Chad and Ryan trudged up the steps of their school the following Monday, three days after Bogie's party. Ryan had finished telling Chad about how Sharpay had been in a rage all weekend, barely coming out of her room and refusing to speak with anybody. Chad had remained quiet, and then Ryan asked the previously stated question.

"Well..." Chad bit his lip. "I kind of... maybe... didn't kiss her."

"Did she want one?" Ryan asked.

Chad nodded uneasily. "She kinda closed her eyes and leaned in..."

Ryan shoved him in the shoulder. "Why didn't you do it!? You had her!"

"She was drunk!" exclaimed Chad. "I didn't think she would remember."

"Well, obviously she did," snapped Ryan, "and now she's pissed. Great job."

Squirming, Chad said, "Maybe she just needs a couple days to cool off."

As soon as he spoke, someone rammed into him at full speed, causing him to fall into Ryan. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Sharpay stalking away.

"Maybe a week," said Ryan sarcastically.

"Hey, well, you're the one who made her all pissed," burst out Chad angrily.

Taken aback, Ryan said, "Me?! What did I --"

"You were an ass to her at the party," Chad reminded him. "You made her upset."

Ryan rolled his eyes. "She's my sister. It's what I do." Eyeing Chad suspiciously, Ryan added, "But why do you care so much? You would have done the same thing to her, if you weren't being paid to take her out."

Chad gaped. "I – well, I --" he sputtered. "Look, you making her upset, led to her getting totally wasted, which led to her puking on me, and then me driving her home, and her trying to kiss me. So, in theory, this is all your fault."

"No, it's your fault," corrected Ryan. "You just gotta win her back, man. Homecoming is coming up, and I wanna ask Taylor."

"Sharpay has to go to that, too?" asked Chad irritably.

Ryan nodded. "Part of my parents' crazy rules."

Chad threw his hands in the air. "So, it's all on me again, isn't it?"

Ryan pulled out a small wad of cash from his pocket and held it out. "Here's another fifty bucks," he said. "Get her back."

Chad looked at the bills for a few seconds and sighed, shoving them in his pocket. "Okay."

--

After school, Chad made a point to follow Sharpay. He wasn't sure what he was going to do, but he had to figure out something. She wouldn't even let him talk to her. He tried going up to her after lunch, but she'd completely ignored him, almost slamming her locker on his fingers.

Ryan was right – why _didn't_ he just kiss her? Why did he have to have so much Goddman integrity? He should have just kissed her and got it over with. Then, he could be making plans for his second paid-date with no trouble at all. But no, instead, he was stuck trying to fucking "win her back," as if they were in some sort of chick flick.

Making sure he stayed two cars back and one lane to the left, he saw her pull into a shopping center. He parked a row away from her and watched her get out, heading into an art studio. Thoroughly intrigued, he followed at a distance.

He entered a few moments after she did, and spied her across the store checking out some easels. A saleswoman greeted her and Sharpay smiled politely back, a kind smile that he'd seen for the first time on the night of their date. The woman began talking to her, and Chad to the impression that this was not Sharpay's first time inside the store.

She was led over to the paints section, and Sharpay enthusiastically said something to the woman. The saleswoman then left her alone and Sharpay browsed through the paints thoughtfully.

Chad slowly sidled over to her and silently looked around next to her. She didn't notice him, as she was studying the paints very closely. He watched her out of the corner of his eye, her brow furrowed, her eyes squinted in concentration, a tiny bit of her tongue sticking out between her lips. A tiny grin crept upon his features, as she ran a hand delicately over a set of paints.

"Excuse me, I've lost my oil paints," he said finally, and she jumped. "Do you know where I can buy more?"

Sharpay glared at him. "What are you doing here?" she growled.

"I just told you," he said pleasantly.

Shaking her head, she pushed past him. "Ugh. Just leave me alone."

"Come on, you can't avoid me forever," he persisted, turning around to face her.

"Sure I can," she said conversationally, resuming her search for paints.

Rolling his eyes in frustration, Chad said, "Jesus Christ, you don't have to get your panties in a twist over next to nothing."

In response, Sharpay scoffed, "Don't think for one minute that you had any affect whatsoever on my panties."

Chad smirked. "Then what did I have an affect on?" he challenged.

"Other than my upchuck reflex," she sneered, "nothing." She picked up a set of oil pants and shoved them into his chest. He reached up and grabbed them before they fell, and she marched out of the store without buying anything.

"Shit," he mumbled under his breath. This was going to be harder than he thought.

--

"Gabriella, I need your help."

Said girl cocked an eyebrow at the boy standing at her doorstep, pleading with his hands clasped together in front of him. "With what?"

"Sharpay," he grumbled.

Her lips cracked into a smile. "Oh, yes, Taylor told me about what happened." She stepped outside and closed the door behind her, taking a seat on her front steps. Chad followed suit, looking miserable. "You should've just kissed her!"

"But – she was drunk!" he exclaimed. "Why does no one get that?"

"Chad, you nobleman," she teased. "Didn't wanna take advantage of the vulnerable drunk girl?"

"Shut up," he said through clenched teeth. "Can you help me or not?"

She pretended to think. "Hm... what exactly do you need help with?"

"I told you," he sighed. "Sharpay."

Smirking, mischievously, she said, "That doesn't really make me understand better. Sharpay... what?"

Chad scowled, and Gabriella smiled innocently back.

"I need your help in getting her not pissed at me," he mumbled. "Happy?"

She shrugged, feigning her innocence. "I just needed to know what you wanted," she said. She fell into a silence, tapping her fingers on the cement below her and biting her tongue in thought. "Well..." she said after a moment, "Sharpay loves attention."

"Yeah," said Chad sarcastically. "So what do you propose I do? Parachute out of a plane with a large 'I'm sorry' sign? That might be problematic."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "It doesn't have to be that kind of attention." A smile slowly formed on her mouth as she said, "You know, I have an idea. Keep an open mind..."

--

After third period ended, Chad discreetly walked over to the administration office with a pounding heart. He couldn't believe Gabriella had talked him into doing this. It had taken nearly a half an hour. She'd had to call Troy and Jason for reinforcements, and they further explained the desperate nature of the situation: desperate times call for desperate measures, they said. When Chad still hadn't bought it, they'd told him that he'd brought it on himself, by not just kissing her.

Chad had sighed, not wanting to argue his case any longer, and gave in.

And that's how he found himself forking over forty of his much loved dollars to the school office's teacher assistant. Chad whispered instructions in his ear and the boy nodded in understanding. He slipped inside and a few moments later emerged, with a microphone.

"You have thirty seconds," he said in a low rush.

Chad jogged down the hall to the lunchroom, trying not to think about what he was about to do and thus chickening out.

He entered the lunchroom on the second story, clutching the microphone and looking down at the first level. His eyes sought out Sharpay and he sighed out in relief; at least she was _there_.

Taking a deep breath as the music began blasting, he brought the microphone to his mouth and began to sing, "_If you change your mind, I'm the first in line. Honey, I'm still free. Take a chance on me._" His voice and the music echoed throughout the speakers in the lunchroom, as well as every single room in the school that had an intercom.

Every single face in the lunchroom looked up at the sound of the mediocre singing voice, but Chad was only watching a certain blonde. Her mouth had dropped when she saw him, and she appeared to be frozen.

Sharpay couldn't understand what he was doing. Was he really singing? And could it possibly be for her? Her stomach inexplicably jolted at the thought, making her light-headed.

Chad marched down the steps, singing, "_If you need me, let me know, gonna be around. If you've got no place to go, when you're feelin' down._"

Everyone could tell that he was looking at her, and she felt her cheeks heat up. She put her hand to her forehead as she felt hundreds of eyes on her, and then looked up again to see Chad standing on a table in the middle of the room, pointing at her.

"_If you're all alone when the pretty birds have flow, honey, I'm still free. Take a chance on me._"

She wanted to smile but she didn't want everyone else to see that she was enjoying it. She pursed her lips to keep the smile from forming and looked down.

Two male on-campus police officers skidded into the lunchroom to see Chad standing on the lunch table, with the microphone in his hand. They rushed forward and yanked him down, dragging him out of the room. Laughter erupted through the cafeteria as Chad allowed himself to be led away and he continued singing, even after the music had been turned off, "_Gonna do my very best and it ain't no lie. If you put me to the test, if you let me try. Take a chance on me. Take a chance on me._"

--

Sharpay couldn't wait to see Chad after lunch, but she was unable to find him anywhere. He wasn't in English, and she couldn't seem to locate him anywhere throughout the rest of the day. When she trotted down the steps of the school once the day was over, she was just thinking that she was going to have to wait until the following morning, when she spotted him by his car.

She felt weird approaching him first, as every other time she had talked to him, it has been him approaching her; asking her out the first time at her locker, the second time at her car, the various times at her locker to apologize for the not-kiss. She felt strange going up to him.

"Hey," she said when she reached him.

He turned around at her voice and grinned. "Hi."

"So..." she said emphatically, "nice performance during lunch. The beginning was a little bit shaky, but you really found your stride during the chorus."

Chad nodded. "Yeah, I thought so. You should take your parents to the matinee tomorrow," he offered.

"I sure will." She smirked. "Hey, where were you in English today?"

"Oh." He shrugged. "I had detention."

"For singing during lunch?" she repeated, looking surprised.

"Yup."

Laughing, Sharpay said, "Wow, you got detention for me. That's pretty kickass."

He opened his mouth in indignation. "That's all you have to say?"

"What else do you want me to say?" she asked with faux-honestly.

"How about..." He thought for a few seconds. "Hey, so you like painting right?"

She looked at him suspiciously for the sudden change of subject. "Yes..."

Chad grinned coyly and grabbed her hand, opening the passenger door to his truck.

"Where are we --" she stammered, clambering inside nonetheless. "But – my car --"

He just smirked and shut the door.

--

"Paintball!?"

Chad had dragged Sharpay to the sign up, he'd forced her to put on the suit and goggles, and he'd practically shoved her into the paintball field. They weren't even really paintballing; they weren't using guns, instead just throwing the balls of paint at each other. But she still wanted nothing more than to head for the hills.

"Chad fucking Danforth, if I get paint in my hair --" she began angrily, but was cut off by Chad popping a blue paintball on her head. She froze, mid-sentence, her mouth wide open, as blue paint dribbled down her face and onto her suit.

She screamed bloody murder, ready to single-handedly remove all of Chad's limbs, but he'd thought ahead and was already twenty feet away from her. She sprinted after him, pelting him with as many paintballs as she could and running faster than she ever had in her lfie. After only a minute, he was nearly covered in paint.

"I think we've even!" he called, putting up his hands in defense.

Sharpay finally caught up to him and, breathing heavily, said, "We are _not_ even! This is NEVER going to come out!" In retaliation, she popped a yellow paintball over his head. The paint spread quickly over his mop of hair, dripping off the ends of his curls and onto his goggles. She laughed maliciously but gasped when he threw a purple paintball at her stomach from a close range.

She coughed at the impact and doubled over. Chad took the opportunity to burst another paintball on her head, this time orange.

He tried to run away, but Sharpay was able to catch up with him. Using four at a time, she continued pelting him with paintballs until she was close enough to pop them right on his back. He turned around and grabbed hold of her wrists to stop her, but she stumbled and lost her balance, crashing into him and causing the two to topple to the ground.

"Oomph," he grunted as she landed on his stomach.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Work out those ab muscles and it wouldn't hurt so much."

"You could lose some weight," he retorted.

She opened her mouth angrily, sitting up and crawling off him. "I do _not_ need to lose weight," she spat insolently.

"You're right, you don't." He sat up as well, sitting right next to her.

"I don't --" She started again, but stopped and blinked down at him. "What?"

He smirked and cupped her face in his hands. Bringing her head toward his, his lips met hers – finally – in a kiss. She placed her hands on his neck and deepened the kiss, while he put one arm around her waist, the other still fluttering near her jaw.

She pulled back first and ran her tongue over her lips, smiling genuinely at him. He simpered back.

Sharpay reached into her pocket for a paintball and surprised Chad by popping it over his head. She let out a shriek and jumped up, running away. Chad shook his head, causing bits of green paint to fly everywhere. He stood up and gave himself a moment to get over the shock, his hand continuously drifting to his mouth.

--

**AN:** Um... so... this was all basically right from the movie. Eh, sue me.

Bee-Tee-Double-You: the song Chad sings is _Take A Chance On Me_ by ABBA. I recommend listening to it because it's, like, good... and stuff.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN:** Heh... so... I kinda forgot about this story. I got photoshop and I haven't done any writing the last couple days and I forgot that I was supposed to post this yesterday. But hey, a three day wait for a chapter isn't bad at all.

**Title:**_ Cruel to be Kind  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_Ryan likes Taylor, but he can't date until Sharpay does. Chad is the only one deemed brave enough to tame the wild beast. But he didn't expect to find a human being behind her facade.  
_**Genre:** _Romance/Humor  
_**Chapter: **_Chapter 6_

"I can't believe you hit me with _six_ of those on my head," Sharpay complained.

She and Chad had finished paintballing and returned to the school, way past dark. Sharpay's bright pink car was the only one remaining in the parking lot, so Chad pulled his right up next to hers.

"I guess instead of homework, you'll be showering all night?" he stated knowingly.

"Yes," she snapped, wincing as she touched the paint that had dried in her blonde mane. "If I come to school with green hair tomorrow, so help me, I will hurt you."

He just rolled his eyes and leaned across the seat, kissing her again. She kissed him back enthusiastically, but pulled away much too soon. "I have to go," she said quietly.

"Okay." He grinned, bending forward to open the passenger door for her. "Bye."

"Bye." She smiled back and slid out of the car. She walked around the front of her car to the driver's side and waved to him before getting in.

As she drove off, Chad found himself unable to move. He ran his tongue slowly across his lips, still tasting her lip gloss. It was peach.

His eyes widened and he blushed as the thought crossed his brain, even though he was alone; did he really take notice of what her lips tasted like? He swallowed as his pulse quickened.

He wasn't falling for her. He wasn't falling for her.

Fuck.

He was falling for her.

He punched the steering wheel so hard that the horn honked loudly. He couldn't believe that he'd ended up liking her, through this whole ordeal. Just a week ago, he was tossing and turning in his bed over the fact that he might have to take her to the movies. And now he was going out of his way to make her happy, and he was kissing her more than was necessary. He was _initiating_ the kissing.

Chad ran a hand through his own paint-drenched hair, before whipping out his cell phone and sending a text message to Gabriella. "We have a problem."

--

Gabriella was already outside and waiting for him when he pulled up to her house. She looked thoroughly annoyed; her arms were crossed over her chest, her right foot was taping impatiently, and her face wore a scowl. "This better be important, Chad," she said irritably as he exited his vehicle, "because I have a huge Econ test tomorrow --"

"I think I like Sharpay," he said in a rush.

She froze, her arms falling limply to her sides. "... what?" she said at last.

He kicked the cement steps and swore loudly. "I can't fucking believe it, but I am."

"How?" she stammered. "I don't – _you_ and _her_? Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

Snorting, Chad said, "Trust me, I've turned it over about a thousand times in my head, looking for every possible loophole." He sighed. "But it definitely is Sharpay."

"Wow." Gabriella slowly sat down, crossing her legs Indian-style. "I can't believe... you and Sharpay!?"

"You wanna say it again?" he grumbled sarcastically, sitting down too. "What am I gonna do?"

She frowned. "Well, I'm not exactly sure what the problem is. You're already dating her..."

"Yeah, but..." He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "It's just... I don't know, I'm being paid. Is it really right to start a relationship on something like that?"

Gabriella shrugged. "Well, if you like her now, it doesn't matter. Just stop accepting the money."

"What if she finds out?"

"She won't," Gabriella promised. "Don't worry. We won't mention it to her or anything."

"Really?" asked Chad in a small, hopeful voice.

She beamed down at him. "I still can't believe you like her. I never thought you would have a girlfriend. You liked Taylor for, like, six months and that went nowhere."

Chad scoffed. "Well, that's also largely because she made out with Ryan the night of the talent show."

"If you'd made a move," Gabriella overruled, "she wouldn't have made out with him."

"Fair enough," he said.

--

Chad yawned as he leaned against the locker next to Sharpay's the following day. "So, it took approximately ten hours to get all that paint out."

Sharpay chuckled. "Ten hours? Wow, I only spent three..." She ran a hand through her blonde hair, observing the ends with a crinkled nose. "I'm gonna have to trim these dead ends off."

"My luscious curls are still beautifully intact," Chad said, dramatically flipping his hair. She made a face.

"What would you do if I shaved your head?"

He leered at her, suddenly serious. "What would you do if I shaved _your_ head?"

Her jaw dropped. "Murder you."

"And that's what I would do, too."

She rolled her eyes. "You and Ryan are both girls in disguise."

"Then that would make you a lesbian," he pointed out.

She just shook her head, a smile playing lightly on her lips. Chad couldn't help but notice how often she'd been smiling recently. "I gotta go to drama. See you later?"

"Mhm," he murmured, leaning forward and giving her a quick kiss in parting. She smiled lightly and turned to head toward the theatre.

Chad watched her walk for a minute before pivoting in the opposite direction, and nearly jumped out of his skin to see Ryan standing right there. "Jesus fucking Christ," he gasped, his heart pounding with adrenaline. "How long were you there for?"

Ryan just shrugged, and nodded in the direction of his sister. "Nice job with Shar," he said approvingly. "So, about Homecoming --"

"Look," interrupted Chad, holding up a hand. "I don't wanna play this little game anymore."

Eyes widening, Ryan said quickly, "No, no, no! You have to take her."

"Ryan, it's not --" Chad tried, but Ryan cut across him.

"Look, I'll give you threehundred dollars, okay? That should take care of everything you need, right?" he said desperately, digging through his wallet and extracting three hundred-dollar bills. "Please?"

Chad shook his head, and said again, "That's not --"

"_Four_ hundred?"

Freezing, Chad eyed the four bills in front of him. He bit his lip. Four hundred dollars was a lot of money. He could really use it. With a quick glance over at the direction of the theatre, he told himself that this was it. No more. And Sharpay never had to find out.

"Okay," he sighed. "But after this, I'm done." He took the money, holding it as if it was going to bite him at any moment, and shoved it into his pocket.

"Late time," promised Ryan. "I swear."

Chad side-stepped the hat-bearing boy to go to his next class, and felt eyes burning into his skull. He glanced around and his gaze rested upon Gabriella, who was standing near Troy's locker and clutching her books to her chest. Her frown told him everything he needed to know. He shook his head slightly, his lips pursed, before lowering his head and continuing down the hall.

--

Chad and Sharpay went to the movies together later that night. He let Sharpay pick the film, and she'd dragged him to some chick flick that she knew he didn't want to see. It didn't bother him, however, since he didn't pay attention to any part of it. He kept one hand in his pocket the entire time, fingering his wallet and feeling the guilt bubble deep within his stomach. He kept squirming, so much so that Sharpay leaned over a couple times to hiss at him to stop moving. Though as much as he tried, he couldn't, and he continued to fidget.

Once the movie was completed, the two walked out of the theatre, hand-in-hand. An unspoken agreement was reached that neither of them wanted to go back home yet, so instead they sat on the front steps of the theatre.

They were quiet for a few moments, Sharpay drawing her cardigan closer around her body from the chill. Chad was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice.

"So, you kept, like, twitching during the movie," said Sharpay, finally breaking the silence. "Are you out of your stash of meth or something?" When Chad didn't respond, she sighed. "Okay, so you're not in the mood for lame jokes. What's your problem?"

His head snapped up. "I don't have a problem. I'm fine."

"Then what do you keep thinking about?" she challenged.

He opened his mouth to answer, but closed it when nothing came out. He opened it again and said, "I have a science project due tomorrow that I didn't start."

"Oh." Her face fell slightly. "Well... I mean, if you wanna go do that, it's totally fine with me."

"No, I don't," Chad said quickly. He scooted over to her and put his arm around her shoulders, rubbing her upper arm to warm her. She melted into his embrace, leaning her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes halfway. "Wanna go to Homecoming with me?" he asked softly, feigning casualty, but his insides were writhing.

He felt Sharpay tense beneath him. She slowly lifted her head up and said, "Um... not really."

"Why not?" he asked thickly.

"Because I don't want to," she said shortly.

Chad had to get her there. Ryan might blow the whole thing if he didn't.

"Please?" he asked in a strained voice.

She shot him a glare. "I don't want to," she snapped again. "Why do _you_ wanna go? What's in it for you?"

"What's in it for me?" he reiterated. "Because... because I wanna spend time with you! Is that so hard to believe?"

Sharpay narrowed her eyes and shifted away from him. "You don't have to spend time with me at a dance. We can just hang out and do something else instead."

"But I wanna go to Homecoming with you," he persisted. "All our friends are going --"

"All _your_ friends," she corrected.

He groaned, frustration starting to overtake him. "Since when are you so against school events? You've always gone to Homecoming."

She stood up. "Look, I don't wanna go, okay?!" she shouted. "Is that fine with you? Do I have your _permission_ to not go?" she said sarcastically. "If you really wanna go, find someone else!"

Chad felt himself getting annoyed with her as she began stalking away. She can't just say no and offer no explanation. He stood up angrily and called after her, "Is this because everyone talks about you?" She paused in the middle of the street, and turned on the spot to stare at him. "If it is, I think you need to get the hell over it."

"I'm over it!" she snarled. "Everyone can fucking talk about me all they want! I don't give a shit! But I'm not gonna go to a school event where I _know_ everyone will be talking about me! Would you go to a party if you knew everyone there hated you?" Headlights illuminated her, and a car stopped some ten feet away, honking for her to move. She flipped off the driver before turning and marching toward her car.

Chad cupped his hands over his mouth as he shouted, "Not everyone there will hate you!"

If she heard him, she gave no indication.

--

"Chad, I'm really getting sick of having to get you out of these messes," said Gabriella with much annoyance as she met up with Chad on the steps of East High early the following morning. "And frankly, everything you do is brought upon by yourself," she continued. "I can't believe you accepted more money from Ryan!"

"Are you through lecturing me?" he asked bitterly.

"No," she said firmly. "You can't just keep leeching money out of Ryan. If Sharpay _does_ find out --"

"You said she wouldn't!" he exclaimed.

She waved his comment away, "Oh, psh! I was just saying that. For all we know, she could find out! Jason's not exactly the best secret keeper in the world."

"Great, thanks," drawled Chad. "Well, it won't matter, because she's already pissed at me."

"Did she ask why you're suddenly five hundred bucks richer?" sneered Gabriella.

"Are you done _now_?"

She sighed in defeat. "Yeah." Sitting down next to him, she said in a bored tone, "Okay, go on. What did you do?"

"I tried to get her to go to Homecoming with me."

Gabriella waited, but when Chad did not continue talking, she tried, unsure, "Um... how horrible?"

"The way she responded, you'd think I'd tried to rape her or something," he grumbled. "She flipped out. She said no, and when I tried to convince her to go, she started yelling about how no one likes her or something." He threw his hands up in their air, narrowly avoiding a whack to Gabriella's head. "I didn't know she cared so much!"

Gabriella smiled, somewhat condescendingly, down at Chad. "Well, most girls care if no one likes them."

"Does no one really like her?" he asked. "I mean, yeah, she's a bitch, but... _no one_ likes her? She's really not that bad."

Laughing, Gabriella said, "Listen to yourself! A week ago, you wouldn't have gone near her even if she was bathing in a tub full of basketballs."

"Yeah, but --" he stammered, "That-that's different."

"How?"

He let his head fall back, causing him to face the sky. "Fuck. It's the same."

She nodded. "It is. And I really can't blame her for not wanting to go. At my old schools, everyone always talked about me because of how nerdy I was. It didn't bother me, per se, but the last thing I'd wanted to do was go to school events I wasn't required to attend."

He sighed. "So, what now? I have four hundred bucks to take a girl to a dance that she doesn't even want to go to."

Gabriella stood up quickly, and he stared. "That," she said, "is _your_ problem. I told you not to take any more money."

"I could really use the money, Gabriella!" he said desperately. "And I swore that this was the last time."

"You sound like a drug addict," she said, not convinced. "You're gonna keep saying that until you and Sharpay celebrate your six month anniversary and she starts getting suspicious over how you made three thousand dollars without a job."

"I swear," he repeated, in a low voice, "that this is it."

Gabriella studied him for a long moment, seemingly X-raying him, before exhaling deeply. "Okay," she said helplessly. "If you say so."

--

"She's not at lunch," Chad mumbled to Gabriella later that day.

"I noticed," she hissed back.

The day before, Sharpay had sat with Chad and the rest of the group, much to the shock of the rest of the students. They'd all stared, deeply interested, and Chad noted, with much annoyance, that they seemed to want nothing more than to get involved in his own life. As if their own lives weren't fulfilling enough.

However, now that Sharpay was gone after only a day, people were whispering more than ever.

"I heard Chad dumped her because she wouldn't put out."

"Really? I heard Ryan got pissed after he caught them doing it in her room..."

"No, Ryan could care less about what Sharpay does! What really happened is Chad called her fat yesterday, and she stayed home today because she's so depressed..."

"I saw her in first period though!"

"Maybe she feels like she can't eat in front of him?"

There was a murmur of assent from that particular table, as they felt that they'd reached the correct conclusion. Chad looked ready to hurl his lunch tray at them as Gabriella stood up. "I'll be right back," she said, giving Chad a pointed nod, before leaving the lunch room.

"Did you mess it up with Sharpay again?" asked Ryan exasperatedly. Chad shoved a handful of fries into his mouth. "Can you just try and keep from pissing her off until after Homecoming?"

Chad narrowed his eyes as he swallowed, and said, "Do you care about her at all?"

Ryan shrugged. "Yeah. I mean, she's my sister. But she's a bitch to me."

Chad bit the inside of his cheek to keep from responding.

--

Gabriella checked every girls' bathroom and every science lab in the school for Sharpay, not finding her anywhere – although she wasn't exactly counting on Sharpay being in the latter. After ten minutes, Gabriella grew tired and decided to head back to the lunchroom. On her way, she passed the library, before doubling back.

She saw, through the open door, that Sharpay was sitting at a table in the corner of the library, her large purse hiding her lunch from the librarian. Gabriella slipped inside, nodded a greeting to the librarian, and sat next to Sharpay. The blonde looked up at the other girl, her eyebrows raised.

"Hey, Sharpay," smiled Gabriella in greeting. "Is that a turkey sandwich?" she said with faux-enthusiasm. "Looks good!"

Sharpay slowly finished chewing her food and swallowed, and said, "What do you want?"

Gabriella sighed, instantly dropping her perky act. "Before you yell at me about you being my 'good deed of the day,'" she started, using air-quotes, "I'm here because... well, I talked to Chad this morning." Sharpay glanced down, averting her eyes, as Gabriella kept going. "He really wants to take you the dance."

"Did he tell you guy I didn't wanna go?" asked Sharpay quickly, her shoulders tensing.

"I – no," lied Gabriella, noting Sharpay's frightened expression. The latter visibly relaxed. "But... I mean, he probably doesn't get it... he's a guy, you know."

"Well... I mean, I do kind of wanna go with him," said Sharpay slowly, after a small silence. "I think it would be fun if we went together."

Gabriella nodded. "But?" she prodded gently.

"But, I don't want Chad stuck with me the whole time," Sharpay said, frowning. "Like, at the party, when... well, when I wasn't exactly welcome, he was stuck parenting me the entire time. I think he'll regret it if we're hanging out alone throughout the whole dance."

Gabriella knitted her eyebrows together. "Why would you be alone?"

Sharpay blinked, and let out a laugh. "You're serious?"

"Yeah. I mean, we'll be there."

Giving her a strange look, Sharpay said slowly, "Well... yes. But in case your memory is faulty, you're the same people who didn't want me at Bogie's party."

Flushing slightly, Gabriella said, "I know. And, trust me, I felt really bad after that. But... I mean, you kinda have to know where we were coming from. Over the summer, you..." She searched for the right words, "weren't exactly the nicest person."

"I know," said Sharpay in a small voice, staring, again, at her lap. "I really just wanted you guys to like me," she confessed.

Taken aback, Gabriella raised her eyebrows and gaped. The statement seemed to atrocious, and yet to pitiful, all at the same time. "You tried to steal Troy from me... to get us to like you?" Gabriella couldn't stop the words from tumbling out of her mouth.

Smiling sheepishly, Sharpay said, "You weren't exactly included in that group."

"So you thought Taylor and everyone would like you more if you stole Troy from me," stated Gabriella, still not comprehending.

Biting the inside of her lip, Sharpay said, "I really don't know what went through my head. I just thought... everyone accepted you so well into their group when you got together with Troy, after, like, two weeks here, and I'd been trying to be accepted for years. I mean, it was fine when it was just Ryan and I, but... I don't know, I guess I was jealous of you. I wanted to be in your position." She paused, and added quickly, "And I _know_ it sounds crazy, me wanting to be you."

Ignoring the last comment, Gabriella said, "Yeah, but you didn't have to be with Troy for that."

"I know," said Sharpay. "Well, now I know." She looked up, meeting Gabriella's eye. "Sorry about that, by the way. For, you know, making everything hell."

Gabriella laughed. "It's okay."

Sharpay's eyes flickered about the library as she asked, "So... you guys will really be cool if I go with you to Homecoming?"

"_Totally_," said Gabriella enthusiastically. "And I know it'll make Chad happy." After a short hesitation, she added, "But... just, be careful, okay?"

Her brow furrowed, Sharpay restated, "Be careful?"

"Yeah. Just... take it easy with Chad for a while," Gabriella said uncomfortably. "Don't dive in to anything."

Sharpay nodded. "Okay." She took Gabriella by surprise when she leaned over and hugged the other girl. Gabriella's eyes widened as she patted Sharpay on the back awkwardly. "Thank you," Sharpay whispered.

--

**AN:** Don't be too hard on Ryan. I'm not trying to make him The Jerk. Try looking at the situation from his point of view. Sharpay has never been that nice to him, as shown in chapter 1, and siblings are known to get each other back. I'm not purposely portraying him as the antagonist; he's just unaware of what he's doing could actually hurt his sister.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN:** One more chapter leftttt! Eh. I used to get all emotional when I ended stories, but after _Forget Yesterday_, which was like novel-esque length, a measly eight chapters doesn't really tamper with my emotions much.

Oh, BTW: I just wanted to say that this story isn't meant to be taken super seriously. I didn't put a tremendous amount of effort into it, and I'm not too concerned that it's very similar to the movie. I know that this isn't my best story, and that I didn't give all my effort, but I just wanted to write a simple Chadpay story. So I just wanted to put that out there for, uh... no real reason.

**Title:**_ Cruel to be Kind  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_Ryan likes Taylor, but he can't date until Sharpay does. Chad is the only one deemed brave enough to tame the wild beast. But he didn't expect to find __a human being behind her facade.  
_**Genre:** _Romance/Humor  
_**Chapter: **_Chapter 7_

After Sharpay agreed to escort Chad to Homecoming, the two became nearly inseparable. Every day after school, for the next week and a half, she would go over to his house, him to hers, or they would go to the movies and dinner. They become an official couple, and, after the first few days of the rest of the school wondering very loudly how the union came to be, slowly it become the norm to see the two walking down the halls together, joined at the hip. Ryan and Taylor would send Chad these annoying winks and nods of approval every time they saw the two together, which made Chad paranoid that Sharpay would somehow notice and question him about it. Fortunately, she took no heed.

This particular Friday, the day before Homecoming, Chad was lounging around on Sharpay's bed while she did some homework, on the floor with her back against her desk drawers, when he noticed something sticking out from underneath said bed.

"Hey, what's this?" he asked curiously, bending down to pick it up.

Her eyes snapped up and grew wide when she saw what he was doing. She lunged toward him as he removed an easel from underneath her bed. "Let go!"

"Is this a painting?" he asked eagerly, as the back was facing him. "Can I see it?"

"No!" she squealed. "It's not done yet! Let go!"

"Aw, come on," he pleaded. "Just a peak?"

"I'll show you some of my older ones," she gasped, panting slightly from the effort of keeping the portrait covered up.

He sighed. "Fiiine," he relented, letting go and causing her to stumble backward. Making sure the picture was facing away from him, she placed it carefully in her closet. She then reached under her bed and removed a stack of completed easels, all signed with her loopy signature in the corner.

"Why are they under you bed?" he asked suspiciously, bringing the paintings onto the bed. She clambered up next to him, shrugging.

"Well, my parents don't exactly know that I paint," she confessed airily. "So I think it might be weird if they saw ten pictures suddenly hanging on my wall."

He looked at her like she'd said that two plus two made five. "So... tell them," he said obviously.

"Oh, I couldn't do that," she brushed his comment off. Her tone sounded so firm, like anything opposed to it was crazy talk, that he stared. "This one is my favorite," she added.

Chad finally drew his attention away from the girl and to her paintings. His jaw dropped as he viewed the paintings in front of him. They depicted various scenes in musicals, including the backs of heads from members of the audience, making them seem instead like a photograph Sharpay had taken as she watched. The one she mentioned as her favorite was from the show _Grease_, the scene near the end when Danny and Sandy embrace.

"I'm not so sure about this one, though," she said, biting her lip, and picking up a different easel. "There was so much going on... I don't think I paid enough attention to the detail of it all..."

This second one had to be just as good, if not better, than the first one. It was during the finale of the musical _Hairspray_, with the entire cast performing. Each performer was slightly out-of-synch, which is usually noticeable when someone takes a snapshot of a large group performing. They all had slightly different, yet similar, expressions of joy and exuberant delight on their faces, while the women's hair was painted as flying through the air in the middle of their spins.

"Sharpay..." Chad breathed, running his hand over the dried paint. "These are really... really good," he said, staring at them.

"I don't know," she sighed. "I just --"

"No, I mean, they're _really_ good," he persisted. "Have you ever taken, like, art classes or something?"

"Well, I did Drawing and Painting last year as an elective," she confessed. "That got me interested."

He stared at her. "You should enter these in an art competition."

She blushed. "I don't think so," she said quickly. "These aren't good enough – I mean, painting pictures of people in musicals? It's not very creative, and --"

"So?"

She froze, chewing her bottom lip. "I – well, no famous artists paint pictures of musicals... they paint --"

"You don't have to be the best right off the bat," he reminded her. "And the fact that it _hasn't_ been done before means it's creative, right?"

"Well..." she stammered, "I guess, but..."

He smirked at her frazzled state. "I've never seen you so self-conscious. Usually you're so high on your pedestal that I need a ladder to get you down."

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Painting is new to me... I don't know how well my abilities are yet, okay?" she said defensively. She gathered the easels up and shoved them back under her bed, brushing strands of hair away from her face as she straightened up again.

"Are you excited for tomorrow?" asked Chad, the pit of his stomach stirring. He still felt horribly guilty about the money he'd been given to bring her to the dance, and he was more excited for the night to be over. Then he could start afresh with Sharpay and begin dating her without the help of money.

"I guess." She shrugged, settling back down on the ground with her math book. "Dances usually aren't fun."

"But _I've_ never taken you to a dance before," he said masculinely.

"You're not a very fun person," she said condescendingly, her nose wrinkled. "Contrarily... you're quite boring."

He shook his head sadly. "You sure know how to kick a guy when he's down, don't you?"

"Why are you already down?" she asked absently, and he pursed his lips as he realized his slip-up.

Thinking quickly, he explained, "Well... you'd already said that you weren't excited. Then you drop the bomb that I'm _boring_!?"

"Oh, why don't you grow a pair," she said sarcastically, but he didn't even hear her comment. He was relieved with his successful lie, and continued counting down the minutes until Saturday night was over.

--

Sharpay and Chad walked into East High gym, where the Homecoming dance was to take place. The two had gone out to dinner beforehand, and then Chad had driven them to the dance. She was gripping his hand rather tightly as they stepped inside, and he bent over, muttering, "I think I'm gonna lose the feeling in my fingers soon."

She let go sheepishly and began wringing her hands together instead. "Sorry."

He raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Why are you so nervous?" he asked.

She pursed her lips and shrugged. "I don't know. I just feel like I shouldn't be here."

He rolled his arms and draped an arm around her shoulders. "Who cares what other people think?"

"I don't care," she snapped. "It's just weird."

"Chad! Over here!"

Glancing up, Chad nodded over at Gabriella. "There they are." He led the blonde over to the rest of the group, where Gabriella was beaming.

"Sharpay, you look so great," said Gabriella earnestly. "I love your dress."

Sharpay smiled. "Thanks. You look nice, too."

Taylor and Ryan smirked knowingly at Chad, but he ignored them. He looked down at Sharpay and asked, "Wanna dance?"

She nodded. "Sure."

The two led the rest of the group further inside the gym, where, in the middle, a large group of teenagers were grouped together to dance to the rap song currently being broadcasted by the DJ. The group squeezed themselves into the crowd.

Chad placed his arms around Sharpay's waist, and her own snaked around his neck. They moved slowly, close together, their bodies pressed up against each other. Standing on her tiptoes, Sharpay put her lips up to his ear and said, "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"When?" he asked, his brow furrowed.

"When you asked me to come the first time," she sighed. "I shouldn't have blown up. So, I'm sorry."

"You're forgiven," said Chad, and he swallowed the large lump of guilt in his throat.

She suddenly smiled evilly at him as she pulled back. "But just so you know," she warned, "we're going shopping tomorrow. And you're holding _aaall_ my bags."

"Do you usually buy a lot when you go shopping?" he asked uncertainly.

Sharpay shrugged. "It depends on how much money I have. And this particular day I have about a thousand bucks."

"Oh, fantastic," he said sarcastically. She grinned and pressed her mouth to his.

--

"So, if Chad and Sharpay 'broke up' tomorrow," asked Taylor, from her and Ryan's position about ten feet away from the aforementioned couple, "we'd still be allowed to date, right?"

Ryan nodded. "Oh, yeah." He laughed. "Sharpay and I don't have to break up together, too."

She gestured her head toward the couple. "I don't know if Chad knows that." Ryan followed her gaze to Chad and Sharpay, whose foreheads were touching and every few seconds they would kiss. "It looks like he's still trying to keep her hooked."

Frowning, Ryan said, "I don't think I told him that he wasn't needed after the dance." He glanced back at Taylor. "Do you think I should tell him?"

Taylor nodded affirmatively. "He'd probably appreciate that," she laughed, "so he doesn't have to keep up the charade longer than he has to."

Ryan dropped his hands from Taylor and walked over to Chad. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" The corners of Chad's mouth tipped downward as he nodded, allowing himself to be led on the outskirts of the sweaty mass of teenagers. "Hey, you don't have to keep this act going any more," he informed Chad. "After tonight, just do whatever you need to."

"I know," said Chad through gritted teeth.

"Oh." Ryan's eyebrows knitted together in frustration. "Because you two seemed like you were having a lot of fun together."

"No, I know," said Chad. "I might be seeing her tomorrow."

Ryan narrowed his eyes suspiciously and said, in a loud voice so Chad could hear it over the thumping music, "Look, I paid you for you to take her out before, but I'm not paying after tonight."

--

As Chad walked away, Gabriella skidded over to Sharpay, her face already flushed, and Troy's hands were wrapped around her waist loosely from behind. "Are you having fun?" she asked breathlessly.

Sharpay nodded, smiling. "Yeah. We're having a good time." She looked at Gabriella gratefully. "Thanks for convincing me to come."

Gabriella waved the comment away. "Don't worry about it." She grabbed the blonde's hands and said, "Let's go get some water." Craning her neck to face Troy, she said, "We'll be right back."

She practically dragged Sharpay after her, and they passed the spot where Ryan and Chad were talking.

"... paid you for you to take her out before, but I'm not paying after tonight."

Sharpay froze, her blood running cold, the color draining from her cheeks. She stopped so suddenly that Gabriella stumbled backward; Sharpay stared at the two boys, her mouth slightly open. Chad spotted her over Ryan's shoulder and his face fell. Gabriella's jaw dropped as well, and she looked back and forth fearfully.

"Nothing in it for you, huh?" spat Sharpay finally, her voice cracking, and she turned on her heel and ran out of the gym.

At the sound of his sister's voice, Ryan jumped and whipped around, but by then Sharpay was gone. He looked back at Chad, who scowled at him before brushing roughly past him to follow Sharpay.

"What --" began Ryan, looking at Gabriella for help, but she didn't say anything. She just looked at him pitifully, a deep frown on her face. Taylor trotted over to her boyfriend and friend, glancing between the two of them.

"Why did Sharpay and Chad run out of here?"

Gabriella still didn't say anything, simply about-facing and jogging out of the gym. Ryan and Taylor gazed at each other in bewilderment.

--

"Sharpay, wait!"

She could hear him calling her name, over and over again, but it just made her angrier; thus, she ran faster. However, it was a hard feat to accomplish in three-inch stilettoes, so it was no surprise that he finally caught up with her, in the middle of the parking lot.

"Let go of me!" she shrieked. She had to get out of there. She felt like she was going to explode at any moment. Her heart was racing and her hands where shaking from fury.

"Can you just let me explain?" he pleaded with her, holding her wrist so tightly that she knew it would be bruised the following the morning.

Sharpay refused to look at him. She kept her head down and continued her attempts to wrench her arm out of his grasp. "Explain? I heard it all. Ryan paid you to go out with me." She laughed bitterly. "I should've known."

"No, it wasn't like that!" he cried desperately. "Please, look at me. Let me explain."

Her rage got the better of her, and she finally looked up to glare maliciously at him, not caring if he noticed her red rimmed eyes. "What was it like, then?" she asked in a low, deadly voice, and Chad's eyes widened at how harsh her tone was; she took the opportunity to yank her arm away from him. "A down payment now and a bonus for getting me in bed?"

"I didn't care about the money, okay?!" Chad shouted back, his feeling of hopelessness imminent in his voice.

"Then what did you care about?" she screeched hysterically. "Were you getting perks, too?"

"I cared about you!" he exploded. "Are you happy? I cared about you!"

His head jerked sideways as her palm connected with his cheek. His hand fluttered over the red mark glowing on his skin and he stared at her, her brown eyes swimming with misery and resentment. "Am I happy?" she spat, glaring at him murderously. "Fuck you," she said in a dangerous voice.

She marched away from him, but only made it ten steps when he called, "You don't have a car."

Sharpay became very still as that realization sunk in with her. She didn't have a car. He'd taken her to the dance. She bit her lip. _Shit._

"Sharpay."

She glanced around at the sound of a female voice, and was startled by a set of keys being hurtled toward her. She caught them, stunned, and saw Gabriella standing some feet behind Chad. "Troy and I will find another ride home."

Feeling too desperate to get as far away from the scene as possible, Sharpay just nodded and practically ran to Gabriella's car.

--

Chad turned to Gabriella, who was staring at him. "What'd you do that for?" he asked.

"What?" she retorted. "You wanted her to walk home instead? That's smart."

"No," he said in a strained voice, watching as Sharpay drove out of the parking lot. "I was gonna take her home."

Folding her arms over her chest, Gabriella snapped, "You really think that would've been a better idea? She is pissed beyond belief at you. Taking her home would _not_ have been a good idea."

"So letting her sleep on the fact that I'm the most despicable human being on the planet is better?" he snarled.

Gabriella glared at him. "You've already been slapped once before. Don't make me do it again."

"What are you _talking_ about!?" he burst out. "Jesus, Sharpay is already mad enough at me. Now you too?"

"You deserve it!" she shouted. "I TOLD you not to take any more money from Ryan, and you did it anyway! You had this coming, Chad! You should've just told Ryan the truth and given him the money back!"

"Give him the money back?" repeated Chad. "What good would that have done?"

Gabriella stared at him incredulously. "It would have shown," she explained slowly, waving her arms for emphasis, "that you care about Sharpay, and not the money! Do you really not understand the impression that gives off?"

He was silent for a moment, chewing on his lip as he turned Gabriella's words over his mind. "If I gave the money back now," he asked, "do you think she'd forgive me?"

Her expression finally softening, Gabriella's hands fell limply to her side and she looked at him sympathetically. "I don't know," she confessed quietly. "I don't know, Chad."

--

Sharpay was surprised that she didn't crash on her way home, or at least get pulled over. She went seventy miles per hour the entire way, and her hands were shaking so badly that she was lucky the roads were nearly empty, or else all her lane-weaving would have earned her a serious injury had she rammed into another car.

She burst into her house and was too enraged to close the front door behind her; she didn't bother to greet her parents as she stomped up the stairs, tripping every couple of steps. She kicked her shoes off so hard that the heel of one dented her wall. Her arms shook as she stood in the middle of her room, trying to figure out the best way to unleash her uncontrollable anger. She had a huge urge to trash her room, but that shifted to trashing Ryan's room; he's the one that started the entire mess.

But then she decided that no matter how many rooms in her house she messed up, the fact that Chad had been paid to date her would still stay the same. She looked around her room wildly, hoping to dispose of anything that reminded her of him, but they'd been dating for so little time that hardly anything did.

A thought struck her and threw open the doors of her closet, wrenching out of it her most recently completed painting, having been finished earlier in the afternoon. Gripping it so tightly that her palms went numb within seconds, she marched down the stairs, through the still-open front door, and shoved the easel into the trash can. Brushing her hands together triumphantly, as if to rid them of imaginary dirt, she strode back into her house and up to her room.

Upon reentry, though, her anger had diminished entirely and she was left with only one emotion; anguish. It filled her very arteries, flowing through her like blood. Her heart pumped it faster and faster throughout her body, and every time she took a breath, she felt her lungs constrict. Her brain pounded as she threw herself onto her bed, her hair still in it's up-do, her makeup still heavily applied, her dress still hugging her body, and let the tears fall.

--

**AN:** o teh dramaz


	8. Chapter 8

**AN:** THE END. How sad. My first sole Chadpay-centric full-length ("Forget Yesterday" doesn't count because it was also about Troyella). I hope you all enjoyed this story. I liked writing it, mostly because I love the movie and the couple.

I hope you all continue to obsessively ship Chadpay as your OTP and eventually sign my petition to the writers in order to change the Chaylor/Zekepay pairings to Chadpay.

... Just kidding.

**Title:**_ Cruel to be Kind  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_Ryan likes Taylor, but he can't date until Sharpay does. Chad is the only one deemed brave enough to tame the wild beast. But he didn't expect to find a human being behind her facade.  
_**Genre:** _Romance/Humor  
_**Chapter: **_Chapter 8_

Sharpay didn't emerge from her bedroom all day on Sunday. After Ryan had finally learned what was going on from Troy, about Chad actually liking Sharpay, he'd felt horrible and went straight home. He knocked repeatedly on Sharpay's door until she finally opened it for him, her cheeks wet, her eyes bloodshot and swollen, and her hair one big knot. "Go away," she'd growled menacingly, slamming the door in his face, and, if he'd been standing any closer, it would have broken his nose.

He'd decided to try again the following morning, but she was sleeping so deeply that even if she wasn't angry beyond comprehension at him, she wouldn't have been able to let him in.

He sighed, sitting against her door, at noon that day, seeing as how Sharpay still wasn't awake. He took out his phone and called Taylor. "Hello?" she answered on the second ring.

"She's still sleeping," he said shortly.

She sighed. "I wonder if she was up all night," she said sadly. "God, Ryan, are we, like, Devil's spawn or something? How could we do this to her?"

"I didn't know she liked him!" he exclaimed defensively.

"Still," she said, "I just... in hindsight, we should have known that paying someone to take out someone else never ends well."

"I know," said Ryan miserably. "And it's my own sister, too. I know she's a bitch but... I'm still her brother. I'm supposed to beat up guys for liking her, not pay them to."

Taylor giggled. "I can't imagine you in the protective brother role, Ryan. I can imagine you getting the shit beat _out_ of you, though."

"Thanks," drawled Ryan sarcastically. He turned his head and looked at Sharpay's blank door, and exhaled. "Well, since she's still asleep," he said, "I'm gonna go see Chad."

There was a small stretch of time where Taylor didn't respond before she said, "Are you sure? He did _not_ give you the best look last night."

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm just gonna see him tomorrow," he remarked. "Might as well make it on my own terms." After a slight pause, he added, "And I'd rather he kill me outside school."

"Okay," said Taylor uncertainly, "but try to avoid death at all costs, please."

Chuckling, Ryan ended the call before jumping up and jogging down the steps. Calling a quick good-bye to his parents, he stepped outside and noticed that Gabriella's car was gone. He wasn't sure if she'd retrieved it without coming inside in order to avoid him, or to give Sharpay her much needed space.

He was just unlocking his car when he noticed a large painting sticking out of his trash can. Not aware that anyone in his family painted, he curiously approached it, pulling it out of the can to observe it. His jaw dropped as his eyes skimmed over it, and he hurried to put it in his car.

--

"Chad. Come on."

Ryan had been knocking on said boy's bedroom door for the last five minutes, getting hardly anything more than mumbled responses, such as, "Go away," and, "I don't wanna talk," or, "I'm tired."

"I don't care if you're tired," snapped Ryan. "Just get out and talk to me. You're being such a girl."

"Fuck you, man."

"Fine. I'll just say it out here," he said irritably. "I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have paid you to take her out... and I'm sorry for blowing the whole thing yesterday. I didn't know you actually liked her... like, for real."

There was a full minute of silence, after which Chad finally opened his bedroom door. He was wearing red East High sweats and a white wife-beater. "It's fine," he grumbled. "Theoretically, it's my fault, anyway."

"Theoretically?" repeated Ryan, slightly smirking at Chad's use of the word. "How so?"

Chad frowned. "Well, if you hadn't paid me, I never would have gone out with her anyway. And Gabriella's right, I should have just given you the money back later." He shook his head. "But it doesn't matter. She'd never forgive me anyway."

"Sure she will," said Ryan, but he knew it wasn't likely; Sharpay held grudges for a long time. Once he ripped her ballet uniform on accident, and she held it over his head for three years, long after she'd given up the sport. "Hey, you know..." he said, remembering suddenly, "I have something for you. It's Sharpay's." Ryan saw Chad's ears perk up. "She wanted to throw it away."

He led the depressed boy down the hallway and out through his house, heading for his car. He opened the backseat and extracted the portrait he'd found in the garbage can. "I didn't even know she painted," confessed Ryan, handed the slightly bent portrait over to Chad. Noticing that the latter's face registered no surprise, he added, "But I guess you did."

Chad just nodded as he took the painting, flipping it over so it faced him. It was unfamiliar; he hadn't seen it before. "This is the one she was working on on Friday," he said, his eyes widening as his took in its appearance. "She wouldn't let me see it..."

His heart sunk considerably as he ran his hand over it. It was the scene from _Beauty and the Beast_ when Belle is crying over Beast's supposedly dead body, and the rose has only one petal left. It is painted as if the artist was sitting in the audience, like all of her paintings were, except this one had a different, distinct property to it. The artist was depicted as sitting behind Sharpay and Chad; on the bottom left hand corner, she'd painted the back of her own head from that night – half up, and tightly curled. In the bottom right corner, she'd painted the back of Chad's head, his wild, unruly curls sticking out in every direction.

She'd signed it on the right corner, near his head, meaning she must have completed it very recently. Perhaps right as he was picking her up for the dance. And when she got home, she'd tried to throw it away. His throat closed up painfully as he touched the dried paints that were the two of them.

"I'm sorry, again, man," said Ryan quietly. Chad didn't answer, focusing so intently on the painting. He barely even noticed Ryan getting in his car, or him driving away. He just sat down on the sidewalk in front of his house, not moving for a long, long time.

--

Sharpay and Chad did not speak at all the following Monday. She ate lunch in the library again, and he at his normal table. Everyone was unusually quiet at his table, all making sure that they did not talk about the dance on Saturday night. It was made hard, however, by the constant whispers of their fellow peers.

"Did you see her run out like that?"

"Yeah, he must've made her really pissed."

"I heard she found out he was cheating on her with Gabriella."

"Then why are Gabriella and Troy still dating?"

"Troy forgave her, obviously. Those two are meant to be. He realized it was a small lapse in judgement."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, and Chad gripped his seat tightly.

"Chad," said Taylor gently, and he jumped.

"What?" he asked nastily.

"I – just," she stammered, "don't listen to the rumors."

"I'm not listening to the rumors," he spat. "Does it look like I am? Because I'm not."

Gabriella and Taylor exchanged worried glances. "Okay..."

--

Sharpay walked into English after lunch knowing that the class would be hard to get through. Chad sat on the opposite side of the room, but he was still _there_. Breathing the same air, seeing the same sights. She wasn't sure if she was going to be able to stand it.

"I hope you all remembered that your sonnets are due today," Mr. Morgan said by way of greeting as the tardy bell rang.

"Ah, shit," mumbled Chad loudly in his corner. "I knew I forgot something..."

"A zero for Danforth," the teacher mused. "That was easy." He looked around at the class. "For anyone that _did_ do their homework, who wants so share?"

Sharpay had actually completed her homework. She'd almost forgotten, but when she finally dragged herself out of bed at two in the afternoon, she'd sat down and wrote the poem. Iambic pentameter and all. She was very proud of herself, to say the least. She'd never written poetry before.

"Anyone?" Mr. Morgan was saying.

Having no idea what possessed her, Sharpay suddenly raised her hand. "I'll do it." Aside from the fact that she never shared anything voluntarily in English, or in any class, for that matter, she also looked horrible on this particular day. She was wearing a pink Victoria's Secret tracksuit with her hair up in a ponytail and very minimal makeup.

But she still got up, her binder in her arms, and walked to the front of the class. She made eye contact with no one as she stared down at her work and began to read.

"I hate the way you talk to me, and the way you cut your hair. I hate the way you drive my car. I hate it when you stare," she recited, and her voice started to shake. The longer she stood in front of everyone, the more she questioned what in the hell she was doing. He was sitting _right there_.

However, an unknown force compelled her to keep going. "I hate your big dumb combat boots, and the way you read my mind. I hate you so much it makes me sick; it even makes me rhyme." Someone laughed, and Sharpay became further aware that people were actually listening to her. She swallowed, and read, "I hate the way you're always right. I hate it when you lie. I hate it when you make me laugh, even worse when you make me cry."

And that's when it happened. She felt her voice break and she finally looked up to meet Chad's gaze. He, like everyone else in the class, was watching her, but his eyes held something else in them.

"I hate it when you're not around, and the fact that you didn't call," she continued, her voice rising to an unnaturally high pitch as she held in her sobs. She took a deep breath, calming herself briefly, and finished. "But mostly I hate the way I don't hate you. Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all."

She broke off with a loud cry; her face heated up in embarrassment as she came to the realization that twenty-five students, including her teacher, were watching her practically serenade a boy and then burst into tears. Her arms falling limply to her side and her binder dangling loosely from her hand, she shuffled out of the room. Her hand fluttered near her forehead, hoping to at least shield the view of the tears that were about to leak.

As soon as she was out of the classroom and the door was safely shut, she let out a muffled sob behind her hand as she leaned against the wall and sank to the ground, weeping into her hands. She hadn't realized before how much Chad had meant to her and how hard his deceit had affected her until that moment. Not even when she was pouring out all her emotions into the poem did she realize it.

Normally she would have felt humiliated as such a display, but, in some strange way, she felt good. She felt as if an elephant-sized weight has been relieved from her shoulders, and that she could finally breathe easy. Sure, she'd just started blubbering in front of a classroom full of students, but she still felt better. Perhaps she'd already gone through the five stages of grief. Is it possible to do it in a fortnight?

Sharpay just shrugged. She didn't care. She was fine. She could get through this. Sharpay Evans could get through anything. And now that the worst part – facing him – was over, she could start to heal.

--

After Sharpay had read her poem out loud and was met with a good minute of stunned silence, everyone had turned to stare at Chad – even Mr. Morgan, who seemed to know everything that went on in the school.

She didn't return for the rest of the period, for which he was thankful. He needed to get his thoughts in order, and decide what his next plan of action would be.

He hadn't been sure, earlier, what he was going to do about Sharpay. He figured that she wouldn't want to talk to him at all – the last time she'd been mad at him, she'd almost cut off his fingers, and that had been over a stupid kiss. There was no telling what she would do to him in _this_ situation. Decapitating him wasn't a far-off guess, he assumed.

But then she'd come out and made the first move. She didn't hate him. Clearly, that meant something, right? Was that an invitation for him to make amends?

He bit his lip. Whatever he did had be a bold statement. He couldn't just walk up to her and say he was sorry. It had to be something that would make her jaw drop.

When the bell finally rang, signaling the end of fourth period, he discreetly slipped out of the school to head toward his car, with a full-fledged plan.

--

Sharpay didn't see Chad the rest of the day, but she didn't care. It would only make it harder if she did see him.

It wasn't all so easy, though; it didn't take long for her poetry incident to spread around school like a forest fire. Soon, people were whispering about her over a completely different subject.

"I hear she proclaimed her love for him, but he turned her down."

"Yeah, he yelled at her to get over it, and she ran away, crying."

Sharpay just smiled and shook her head, unaffected.

--

Mondays are always the longest, Sharpay had decided. Poor Mondays; they got the short end of the stick. It's not their fault that they come right after Sunday, and thus beginning the long work week. Ironically, Sunday is the first day of the new week, and yet Monday is the most hated.

Well, not everything can work out in the desirable way, Sharpay noted as she stepped inside her house. It was empty; a strange occurrence. One glance around the kitchen and her eyes fell upon a note written by her mother, explaining how she and her father were furniture shopping. Sharpay rolled her eyes; any more furniture, and they'd have to buy a second house.

Her bag slung over her shoulder, she trotted up the stairs to her bedroom, opening it and promptly freezing in the doorway.

All of her completed paintings were hung up and framed around her room, and around twenty blank easels were propped up against the opposite wall. Her mouth fell open as she stepped further into her room, throwing her bag absently onto her bed. She walked around slowly, gazing around as if she'd never been inside before, and her head finally rotated a full three-sixty as her eyes rested upon the painting above the headboard of her bed. It was the portrait she'd thrown out two nights before. She spied the upper right hand corner, a slight crease where it had bent when she'd shoved it in the trash can.

"I know you threw it away," came a voice, "but I thought you might reconsider."

Sharpay's body jerked in surprise as she spun around; Chad was leaning back against the wall by her door, his hands in his pockets. In her shocked form over the foreign display in her room, she'd clearly not been paying attention enough to notice him.

"How did you --" she stammered. "I – why?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "I remember you telling me once that you like painting but have trouble buying the supplies."

She gaped like a mute and stared unblinkingly. "I --" She swallowed, unsure of what to ask first. "How'd you get in?" she settled on.

"Ryan gave me a key."

Finally showing a smidgen of emotion, she scoffed. "Oh, fantastic. So, you'll probably come here all the time now, won't you? Just march on in, unwelcome and all."

He pushed himself off the wall and took a few steps forward, ignoring her statement. "I really liked the 'Beauty and the Beast' painting," he confessed in a low voice. "I wish you wouldn't have thrown it away, just because of me."

"Don't flatter yourself," she attempted to snap, but it came off as more of an offhand comment. She looked around again, and noticed for the first time the pile of paints piled near the blank easels. "Did you really buy all this?" she asked incredulously. "And the frames?" He nodded. "Jesus, it must have cost a fucking fortune."

He grinned sheepishly. "I had a bunch of money lying around. This guy paid me to take out his incredibly hot and _amazing_ sister."

Warm color crept up her neck to settle in her cheeks, and the knowing smirk on his lips told her he could see it. But she wouldn't give him the benefit of feeling accomplished. "Really?" she deadpanned. "Wow, money and a date with a hot girl... must've been like heaven for you."

He just shrugged his shoulders. "The money part kind of became a tad insignificant toward the end."

"A girl over money?" she repeated sarcastically. "She must've been _really_ hot."

Chad sensed her trap and said coyly, "She wasn't just hot, Sharpay. You should meet her sometime. I think you two would get along."

Flipping her long hair over her shoulder, she folded her arms across her chest and leaned back against the wall next to her bed. "I don't know..." she mused. "A girl that's got you whipped? I'm not sure I could put up with someone so pathetic."

"Hey, now," he said warningly. "Don't judge a book by its cover."

"I'm not," she countered. "I'm judging it by its summary."

He stepped in front of her so that he had her cornered. Her arms were still folded and her face did not register any positive expression as he put his arm next to her head, using it to support his weight. "I messed up, though," he admitted.

"On what?" she challenged.

"This girl," he said. "I was just supposed to take her out, you know, once or twice. But..." He smirked. "I fell for her."

"Did you, now?" Sharpay said, feigning surprise.

He leaned closer, his mouth lingering right above hers. She still made no move to advance toward him, but her felt her breathing slow considerably. "Mhm," he murmured. He finally placed his lips roughly to hers, pushing her up against the wall. He put his hands on her hips but her arms on his shoulders pushed him back.

"You think you can buy me stuff every time you mess up?" she bitched. "Because, F-Y-I, you can't."

"You say that now..." Chad grinned, leaning down, and kissing her again.

Sharpay pushed him away again and said, "Buying me stuff won't just --" but she was cut off my his mouth, urgently, on hers. She finally gave in and gave herself to him, allowing him to cup her face in his hands while she reached up to cradle the back of his neck.

Smiling against his lips, she figured that perhaps the healing process wouldn't be so bad after all.

_Cruel to be kind means that I love you,_

_Baby, you gotta be cruel to be kind._


End file.
